08. 


LIB  R  ARY 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

OK 


Received/   OCT  271892,  189  -  .  .. 

Accessions  No.  1\3><\0>JS~   Shelf  No.      & 

^  - 

.  _________    •        v.  \\ 


THE 


WEPT  OF  WISH-TON-WISH. 


BY     J.     FENIMORE     COOPER. 


*  Bat  she  is  dead  to  him,  to  all 
Her  late  hangs  silent  on  the  wall, 
And  on  the  stairs,  and  at  the  door, 
lier  fairy  step  ia  heard  no  more." — Roger*. 


COMPLETE  IN   ONE    VOLUME. 


NEW    EDITION. 


NEW    YORK: 
STRINGER      AND      TOWNSEND. 

1856 


WEPT  OF  THE  WISH-TON-WISH. 


Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania,  to  wit: 

*******      BE  jT  REMEMBERED,  That  on  the  tenth  day  of  Octo 

JL.  S.*  her,  in  the  fifty-fourth  year  of  the  independence  of  the  United 

*******  States  of  America,  A.  D.  1829,  CAREY,  LEA  &  CAREY,  of  the 

said  district,  have  deposited  in  this  office  the  title  of  a  Book,  the  right 

whereof  they  claim  as  proprietors,  in  the  words  following,  to  wit : 

"  The  Wept  of  Wish-Ton-Wish  :  A  Tale.  By  the  author  of  the  Pioneer* 
Prairie,  &c.  &c. 

'  But  she  is  dead  to  him,  to  all ; 

Her  lute  hangs  silent  on  the  wall, 

And  on  the  stairs,  and  at  the  door, 

Her  fairy  step  is  heard  no  more.' — ROGERS." 

In  conformity  to  the  Act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  enti 
tled,  "  An  Act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the 
copies  of  Maps,  Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  Authors  am!"  Proprietors  of 
such  copies,  during  the  times  therein  mentioned  '  And  also  to  the 
Act  entitled,  "  An  Act  supplementary  to  an  Act,  entitled  •  An  Act  for 
the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  Maps,  Charts 
and  Books,  to  the  Authors  and  Proprietors  of  such  copies,  during  the 
times  therein  mentioned,'  and  extending  the  benefits  thereof  to  the  art* 
of  designing,  engraving,  and  etching,  historical  and  other  Prints." 
D  CALDWELL,  Clerk  of  the 

Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania 


, 


THE  REV.   J.  R,  0. 


OP 

PENNSYLVANIA 


THE  kind  and  disinterested  manner  in 
which  you  have  furnished  the  materials  of 
the  following  tale,  merits  a  public  acknow 
ledgment.  As  your  reluctance  to  appear  be 
fore  the  world,  however,  imposes  a  restraint, 
you  must  receive  such  evidence  of  gratitude, 
as  your  own  prohibition  will  allow. 

Notwithstanding  there  are  so  many  stri 
king  and  deeply  interesting  events  in  the 
early  history  of  those  from  whom  you  derive 
your  being,  yet  are  there  hundreds  of  other 
families  in  this  country,  whose  traditions, 
though  less  accurately  and  minutely  preserv 
ed  than  the  little  narrative  you  have  submit 
ted  to  my  inspection,  would  supply  the  mate 
rials  of  many  moving  tales.  You  have  every 
reason  to  exult  in  your  descent,  for,  surely, 
if  any  man  may  claim  to  be  a  citizen  and 
a  proprietor  in  the  Union,  it  is  one,  that,  like 


IV  DEDICATION. 

yourself,  can  point  to  a  line  of  ancestors 
whose  origin  is  lost  in  the  obscurity  of  time. 
You  are  truly  an  American.  In  your  eyes, 
we  of  a  brief  century  or  two,  must  appear  as 
little  more  than  denizens  quite  recently  ad 
mitted  to  the  privilege  of  a  residence.  That 
you  may  continue  to  enjoy  peace  and  hap 
piness,  in  that  land  where  your  fathers  so 
long  flourished,  is  the  sincere  wish  of  your 
obliged  friend, 

THE  AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


Ar  this  distant  period,  when  Indian  traditions  are 
listened  to  with  the  interest  that  we  lend  to  the  events 
of  a  dark  age,  it  is  not  easy  to  convey  a  vivid  image  of 
the  dangers  and  privations  that  our  ancestors  encoun 
tered,  in  preparing  the  land  we  enjoy  for  its  present 
state  of  security  and  abundance.  It  is  the  humble  object 
of  the  tale  that  will  be  found  in  the  succeeding  pages, 
to  perpetuate  the  recollection  of  some  of  the  practices 
and  events  peculiar  to  the  early  days  of  our  history. 

The  general  character  of  the  warfare  pursued  by  the 
natives  is  too  well  known  to  require  any  preliminary 
observations ;  but  it  may  be  advisable  to  direct  the  at 
tention  of  the  reader,  for  a  few  moments,  to  those  lead 
ing  circumstances  in  the  history  of  the  times,  that  may 
have  some  connexion  with  the  principal  business  of  the 
legend. 

The  territory  which  now  composes  the  three  states 
of  Massachusetts,  Connecticut  and  Rhode-Island,  is  said, 
by  the  best-informed  of  our  annalists,  to  have  been 
formerly  occupied  by  four  great  nations  of  Indians,  whc 
were,  as  usual,  subdivided  into  numberless  dependent 
tribes.  Of  these  people,  the  Massachusetts  possessed 
a  large  portion  of  the  land  which  now  composes  the 
state  of  that  name ;  the  Wampanoags  dwelt  in  what  was 
once  the  Colony  of  Plymouth,  and  in  the  northern  dis 
tricts  of  the  Providence  Plantations ;  the  Narragansetts 
held  the  well-known  islands  of  the  beautiful  bay  which 
receives  its  name  from  their  nation,  and  the  more  south 
ern  counties  of  the  Plantations ;  while  the  Pequots,  or, 
as  it  is  ordinarily  written  and  pronounced,  the  Pequods, 
1* 


VI  PREFACE. 

were  masters  of  a  broad  region  that  lay  along  the  west 
ern  boundaries  of  the  three  other  districts. 

There  is  great  obscurity  thrown  around  the  polity  of 
the  Indians,  who  usually  occupied  the  country  lying 
near  the  sea. 

The  Europeans,  accustomed  to  despotic  governments, 
very  naturally  supposed  that  the  chiefs,  found  in  pos 
session  of  power,  were  monarchs  to  whom  authority 
had  been  transmitted   in  virtue  of  their   birth-rights 
They  consequently  gave  them  the  name  of  kings. 

How  far  this  opinion  of  the  governments  of  the  abo- 
ligines  was  true  remains  a  question,  though  there  i? 
certainly  reason  to  think  it  less  erroneous  in  respect  to 
the  tribes  of  the  Atlantic  states,  than  to  those  who  have 
since  been  found  further  west,  where,  it  is  sufficiently 
known,  that  institutions  exist  which  approach  much 
nearer  to  republics  than  to  monarchies.  It  may,  how 
ever,  have  readily  happened  that  the  son,  profiting  by 
the  advantages  of  his  situation,  often  succeeded  to  the 
authority  of  tne  father,  by  the  aid  of  influence,  when 
the  established  regulations  of  the  tribe  acknowledged 
no  hereditary  claim.  Let  the  principle  of  the  descent 
of  pov/er  be  what  it  would,  it  is  certain  the  experience 
of  our  ancestors  proves,  that,  in  very  many  instances, 
the  child  was  seen  to  occupy  the  station  formerly  filled 
by  the  father;  and,  that  in  most  of  those  situations  of 
emergency,  in  which  a  people  so  violent  were  often 
placed,  the  authority  he  exercised  was  as  summary  as  it 
was  general.  The  appellation  of  Uncas  came,  like  those 
of  the  Cresars  and  Pharoahs,  to  be  a  sort  of  synonyme 
for  chief  with  the  Mohegans,  a  tribe  of  the  Pequods, 
among  whom  several  warriors  of  this  name  were  known 
to  govern  in  due  succession.  The  renowned  Metacom, 
or,  as  he  is  better  known  to  the  whites,  King  Philip, 
was  certainly  the  son  of  Massassoit,  the  Sachem  of  the 


PREFACE.  Vl 

Wampanoags  that  the  emigrants  found  in  authority 
when  they  landed  on  the  rock  of  Plymouth.  Miantoni- 
moh,  the  daring  but  hapless  rival  of  that  Uncas  who 
ruled  the  whole  of  the  Pequod  nation,  was  succeeded 
in  authority,  among  the  Narragansetts,  by  his  not  less 
heroic  and  enterprising  son,  Conanchet ;  and,  even  at  a 
much  later  day,  we  find  instances  of  this  transmission 
of  power,  which  furnish  strong  reasons  for  believing 
that  the  order  of  succession  was  in  the  direct  line  of 
blood. 

The  early  annals  of  our  history  are  not  wanting  in 
touching  and  noble  examples  of  savage  heroism.  Vir 
ginia  has  its  legend  of  the  powerful  Powhatan  and  his 
magnanimous  daughter,  the  ill-requited  Pocahontas ; 
and  the  chronicles  of  New-England  are  filled  with  the 
bold  designs  and  daring  enterprises  of  Miantonimoh, 
of  Metacom,  and  of  Conanchet.  All  the  last-named 
warriors  proved  themselves  worthy  of  better  fates,  dying 
in  a  cause  and  in  a.  manner,  that,  had  it  been  their  for 
tunes  to  have  lived  in  a  more  advanced  state  of  society, 
would  have  enrolled  their  names  among  the  worthies  of 
the  age. 

The  first  serious  war,  to  which  the  settlers  of  New- 
England  were  exposed,  was  the  struggle  with  the  Pe- 
quods.  This  people  was  subdued  after  a  fierce  conflict  ; 
and  from  being  enemies,  all,  who  were  not  either  slain 
or  sent  into  distant  slavery,  were  glad  to  become  the 
auxiliaries  of  their  conquerors.  This  contest  occurred 
within  less  than  twenty  years  after  the  Puritans  had 
sought  refuge  in  America. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  Metacom  foresaw  the 
fate  of  his  own  people,  in  the  humbled  fortunes  of  the 
Pequods.  Though  his  father  had  been  the  earliest  and 
constant  friend  of  the  whites,  it  is  probable  that  the 
Puritans  owed  some  portion  of  this  amity  to  a  dire 


Vtil  PREFACE. 

necessity.  We  are  told  that  a  terrible  malady  had  raged 
among  the  Wampanoags  but  a  short  time  before  the 
arrival  of  the  emigrants,  and  that  their  numbers  had 
been  fearfully  reduced  by  its  ravages.  Some  authors 
have  hinted  at  the  probability  of  this  disease  having 
been  the  yellow  fever,  whose  visitations  are  known  to 
be  at  uncertain,  and,  apparently,  at  very  distant  inter 
vals.  Whatever  might  have  been  the  cause  of  this 
destruction  of  his  people,  Massassoit  is  believed  to  have 
been  induced,  by  the  consequences,  to  cultivate  the 
alliance  of  a  nation,  who  could  protect  him  against  the 
attacks  of  his  ancient  and  less  afflicted  foes.  But  the 
son  appears  to  have  viewed  the  increasing  influence  of 
the  whites  with  eyes  more  jealous  than  those  of  the 
father.  He  passed  the  morning  of  his  life  in  maturing 
his  great  plan  for  the  destruction  of  the  strange  race, 
and  his  later  years  were  spent  in  abortive  attempts  to 
put  this  bold  design  in  execution.  His  restless  activity 
in  plotting  the  confederation  against  the  English,  his 
fierce  and  ruthless  manner  of  waging  the  war,  his  de 
feat,  and  his  death,  are  too  well  known  to  require  repe 
tition. 

There  is  also  a  wild  and  romantic  interest  thrown 
about  the  obscure  history  of  a  Frenchman  of  that  period. 
This  man  is  said  to  have  been  an  officer  of  rank  in  the 
service  of  his  king,  and  to  have  belonged  to  the  privi 
leged  class  which  then  monopolized  all  the  dignities 
and  emoluments  of  the  kingdom  of  France.  The  tradi 
tions,  and  even  the  written  annals  of  the  first  century 
of  our  possession  of  America,  connect  the  Baron  de  la 
Castine  with  the  Jesuits,  who  were  thought  to  entertain 
views  of  converting  the  savages  to  Christianity,  not 
unmingled  with  the  desire  of  establishing  a  more  tem 
poral  dominion  over  their  minds.  It  is,  however,  diffi 
cult  to  say  whether  taste,  or  religion,  or  policy,  or 


PREFACE.  IX 

necessity,  induced  this  nobleman  to  quit  the  saloons  of 
Paris  for  the  wilds  of  the  Penobscot.  It  is  merely 
known  that  he  passed  the  greater  part  of  his  life  on  that 
river,  in  a  rude  fortress  that  was  then  called  a  palace ; 
that  he  had  many  wives,  a  numerous  progeny,  and  that 
he  possessed  a  great  influence  over  most  of  the  tribes 
that  dwelt  in  his  vicinity.  He  is  also  believed  to  have 
been  the  instrument  of  furn'shing  the  savages,  who 
were  hostile  to  the  English,  with  ammunition,  and  with 
weapons  of  a  more  deadly  character  than  those  used  in 
their  earlier  wars.  In  whatever  degree  he  may  have 
participated  in  the  plan  to  exterminate  the  Puritans, 
death  prevented  him  from  assisting  in  the  final  effort  of 
Metacom. 

The  Narragansetts  are  often  mentioned  in  these 
pages.  A  few  years  before  the  period  at  which  the  tale 
commences,  Miantonimoh  had  waged  a  ruthless  war 
against  Uncas,  the  Pequod  or  Mohegan  chief.  Fortune 
favored  the  latter,  who,  probably  assisted  by  his  civilized 
allies,  not  only  overthrew  the  bands  of  the  other,  but 
succeeded  in  capturing  the  person  of  his  enemy.  The 
chief  of  the  Narragansetts  lost  his  life,  through  the  agen 
cy  of  the  whites,  on  the  place  that  is  now  known  by  the 
appellation  of  "  the  Sachem's  plain." 

It  remains  only  to  throw  a  little  light  on  the  leading 
incidents  of  the  war  of  King  Philip.  The  first  blow 
was  struck  in  June,  1675,  rather  more  than  half  a  cen 
tury  after  the  English  first  landed  in  New-England,  and 
just  a  century  before  blood  was  drawn  in  the  contest 
which  separated  the  colonies  from  the  mother  country. 
The  scene  was  a  settlement  near  the  celebrated  Mount 
Hope,  in  Rhode-Island,  where  Metacom  and  his  father 
had  both  long  held  their  councils.  From  this  point, 
bloodshed  and  massacre  extended  along  the  whole  fron 
tier  of  New-England.  Bodies  of  horse  and  foot  were 


X  PREFACE. 

enrolled  to  meet  the  foe,  and  towns  were  burnt,  and 
lives  were  taken  by  both  parties,  with  little,  and  often 
with  no  respect  for  age,  condition,  or  sex. 

In  no  struggle  with  the  native  owners  of  the  soil  was 
the  growing  power  of  the  whites  placed  in  so  great 
•eopardy,  as  in  this  celebrated  contest  with  King  Philip. 
The  venerable  historian  of  Connecticut  estimates  the 
loss  of  lives  at  nearly  one-tenth  of  the  whole  number 
of  the  fighting  men,  and  the  destruction  of  houses  and 
other  edifices  to  have  been  in  an  equal  proportion.  One 
family  in  every  eleven,  throughout  all  New-England, 
was  burnt  out.  As  the  colonists  nearest  the  sea  were 
exempt  from  the  danger,  an  idea  may  be  formed,  from 
this  calculation,  of  the  risk  and  sufferings  of  those  who 
dwelt  in  more  exposed  situations.  The  Indians  did  not 
escape  without  retaliation.  The  principal  nations,  al 
ready  mentioned,  were  so  much  reduced  as  never  after 
wards  to  offer  any  serious  resistance  to  the  whites,  who 
have  since  converted  the  whole  of  their  ancient  hunting- 
grounds  into  the  abodes  of  civilized  man.  Metacom, 
Miantonimoh,  and  Conanchet,  with  their  warriors,  have 
become  the  heroes  of  song  and  legend,  while  the  de 
scendants  of  those  who  laid  waste  their  dominions,  and 
destroyed  their  race,  are  yielding  a  tardy  tribute  to  the 
high  daring  and  savage  grandeur  of  their  characters. 


THE  WEPT 

OF 

WISH-TON-WISH. 


CHAPTER  I. 

'•I  may  disjoin  my  hand,  but  not  my  faith." 

SHAKSPEARE. 

THE  incidents  of  this  tale  must  be  sought  in  a 
remote  period  of  the  annals  of  America.  A  colony 
of  self-devoted  and  pious  refugees  from  religious 
persecution  had  landed  on  the  rock  of  Plymouth, 
less  than  half  a  century  before  the  time  at  which 
the  narrative  commences ;  and  they,  and  their  de 
scendants,  had  already  transformed  many  a  broad 
waste  of  wilderness  into  smiling  fields  and  cheerful 
villages.  The  labors  of  the  emigrants  had  been 
chiefly  limited  to  the  country  on  the  coast,  which, 
by  its  proximity  to  the  waters  that  rolled  between 
them  and  Europe,  afforded  the  semblance  of  a  con 
nexion  with  the  land  of  their  forefathers  and  the 
distant  abodes  of  civilization.  But  enterprise,  and 
a  desire  to  search  for  still  more  fertile  domains,  to 
gether  with  the  temptation  offered  by  the  vast  and 
unknown  regions  that  lay  along  their  western  and 
northern  borders,  had  induced  many  bold  adventu 
rers  to  penetrate  more  deeply  into  the  forests.  The 
precise  spot,  to  which  we  desire  to  transport  the 
imagination  of  the  reader,  was  one  of  these  estab 
lishments  of  what  may,  not  inaptly,  be  called  the 
forlorn-hope,  in  the  march  of  civilization  through 
the  country. 

So  little  was  then  known  of  the  great  outlines 
of  the  American  continent,  that,  when  the  Lords 


12  THE    WEPT 

Say  and  Seal,  and  Brooke,  connected  with  a  few 
associates,  obtained  a  grant  of  the  territory  which 
now  composes  the  state  of  Connecticut,  the  King  of 
England  affixed  his  name  to  a  patent,  which  con 
stituted  them  proprietors  of  a  country  that  should 
extend  from  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  to  those 
of  the  South  Sea.  Notwithstanding  the  apparent 
hopelessness  of  ever  subduing,  or  of  even  occupying 
a  territory  like  this,  emigrants  from  the  mother 
colony  of  Massachusetts  were  found  ready  to  com 
mence  the  Herculean  labor,  within  fifteen  years 
irom  the  day  when  they  had  first  put  foot  upon  the 
well-known  rock  itself.  The  fort  of  Say-Brooke, 
Uie  towns  of  Windsor,  Hartford,  and  New-Haven, 
soon  sprang  into  existence,  and,  from  that  period  to 
*ms;  the  little  community,  which  then  had  birth, 
has  been  steadily,  calmly,  and  prosperously  advanc 
ing  in  its  career,  a  model  of  order  and  reason,  and 
the  luve  from  which  swarms  of  industrious,  hardy 
-ind  enlightened  yeomen  have  since  spread  them 
selves  over  a  surface  so  vast,  as  to  create  an  im 
pression  that  they  still  aspire  to  the  possession  of 
the  immense  regions  included  in  their  original  grant. 
Amonpr  the  religionists,  whom  disgust  of  persecu 
tion  had  early  driven  into  the  voluntary  exile  of 
the  coloD«es,  was  more  than  an  usual  proportion  of 
men  of  character  and  education.  The  reckless  and 
the  gay,  younger  sons,  soldiers  unemployed,  and 
students  from  the  inns  of  court,  early  sought  ad 
vancement  and  adventure  in  the  more  southern 
provinces,  where  slaves  offered  impunity  from  labor, 
and  where  war,  with  a  bolder  and  more  stirring 
policy,  oftener  gave  rise  to  scenes  of  excitement, 
and,  of  course,  to  the  exercise  of  the  faculties  best 
suiUd  to  their  habits  and  dispositions.  The  more 
grave,  and  the  religiously-disposed,  found  refuge  in 
the  colonies  of  New-England.  Thither  a  multitude 
of  private  gentlemen  transferred  their  fortunes  and 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  13 

their  families,  imparting  a  character  of  intelligence 
and  a  moral  elevation  to  the  country,  which  it  has 
nobly  sustained  to  the  present  hour. 

The  nature  of  the  civil  wars  in  England  had  en 
listed  many  men  of  deep  and  sincere  piety  in  the 
profession  of  arms.  Some  of  them  had  retired  to 
the  colonies  before  the  troubles  of  the  mother  coun 
try  reached  their  crisis,  and  others  continued  to 
arrive,  throughout  the  whole  period  of  their  exist 
ence,  until  the  restoration;  when  crowds  of  those 
who  had  been  disaffected  to  the  house  of  Stuart 
sought  the  security  of  these  distant  possessions. 

A  stern,  fanatical  soldier,  of  the  name  of  Heath- 
cote,  had  been  among  the  first  of  his  class,  to  throw 
aside  the  sword  for  the  implements  of  industry 
peculiar  to  the  advancement  of  a  newly-established 
country.  How  far  the  influence  of  a  young  wife 
may  have  affected  his  decision  it  is  not  germane  to 
our  present  object  to  consider,  though  the  records, 
from  which  the  matter  we  are  about  to  relate  is 
gleaned,  give  reason  to  suspect  that  he  thought  his 
domestic  harmony  would  not  be  less  secure  in  the 
wilds  of  the  new  world,  than  among  the  companions 
with  whom  his  earlier  associations  would  naturally 
have  brought  him  in  communion. 

Like  himself,  his  consort  was  born  of  one  of  those 
families,  which,  taking  their  rise  in  the  franklins  of 
the  times  of  the  Edwards  and  Henrys,  had  become 
possessors  of  hereditary  landed  estates,  that,  by  their 
gradually-increasing  value,  had  elevated  them  to 
the  station  of  small  country  gentlemen.  In  most 
other  nations  of  Europe,  they  would  have  been  rated 
in  the  class  of  the  petite  noblesse.  But  the  domestic 
happiness  of  Capt.  Heathcote  was  doomed  to  receive 
a  fatal  blow,  from  a  quarter  where  circumstances 
had  given  him  but  little  reason  to  apprehend  dan 
ger.  The  very  day  he  landed  in  the  long-wished- 

VOL.  I.  2 


14  THE    WEPT 

for  asylum,  his  wife  made  him  the  father  of  a  no 
ble  boy,  a  gift  that  she  bestowed  at  the  melancholy 
price  of  her  own  existence.  Twenty  years  the  senior 
of  the  woman  who  had  followed  his  fortunes  to  these 
distant  regions,  the  retired  warrior  had  always  con 
sidered  it  to  be  perfectly  and  absolutely  within  the 
order  of  things,  that  he  himself  was  to  be  the  first 
to  pay  the  debt  of  nature.  While  the  visions  which 
Captain  Heathcote  entertained  of  a  future  world 
were  sufficiently  vivid  and  distinct,  there  is  reason 
to  think  they  were  seen  through  a  tolerably  long 
vista  of  quiet  and  comfortable  enjoyment  in  this. 
Though  the  calamity  cast  an  additional  aspect  of 
seriousness  over  a  character  that  was  already  more 
than  chastened  by  the  subtleties  of  sectarian  doc 
trines,  he  was  not  of  a  nature  to  be  unmanned  by 
any  vicissitude  of  human  fortune.  He  lived  on, 
useful  and  unbending  in  his  habits,  a  pillar  of  strength 
in  the  way  of  wisdom  and  courage  to  the  immediate 
neighborhood  among  whom  he  resided,  but  reluc 
tant  from  temper,  and  from  a  disposition  which  had 
been  shadowed  by  withered  happiness,  to  enact  that 
part  in  the  public  affairs  of  the  little  state,  to  which 
his  comparative  wealth  and  previous  habits  might 
well  have  entitled  him  to  aspire.  He  gave  his  son 
such  an  education  as  his  own  resources  and  those  of 
the  infant  colony  of  Massachusetts  afforded,  and,  by 
a  sort  of  delusive  piety,  into  whose  merits  we  have 
no  desire  to  look,  he  thought  he  had  also  furnished 
a  commendable  evidence  of  his  own  desperate  re 
signation  to  the  will  of  Providence,  in  causing  him 
to  be  publicly  christened  by  the  name  of  Content. 
His  own  baptismal  appellation  was  Mark;  as  indeed 
had  been  that  of  most  of  his  ancestors,  for  two  or 
three  centuries.  When  the  world  was  a  little  up 
permost  in  his  thoughts,  as  sometimes  happens  with 
the  most  humbled  spirits,  he  had  even  been  heard 
to  speak  of  a  Sir  Mark  of  his  family,  who  had  rid- 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  15 

den  a  knight  in  the  train  of  one  of  the  more  warlike 
kings  of  his  native  land. 

There  is  some  ground  for  believing,  that  the  great 
parent  of  evil  early  looked  with  a  malignant  eye 
on  the  example  of  peacefulness,  and  of  unbending 
morality,  that  the  colonists  of  New-England  were 
setting  to  the  rest  of  Christendom.  At  any  rate, 
come  from  what  quarter  they  might,  schisms  and 
doctrinal  contentions  arose  among  the  emigrants 
themselves ;  and  men,  who  together  had  deserted 
the  fire-sides  of  their  forefathers  in  quest  of  reli 
gious  peace,  were  ere  long  seen  separating  their 
fortunes,  in  order  that  each  might  enjoy,  unmolest 
ed,  those  peculiar  shades  of  faith,  which  all  had  the 
presumption,  no  less  than  the  folly,  to  believe  were 
necessary  to  propitiate  the  omnipotent  and  merciful 
father  of  the  universe.  If  our  task  were  one  of 
theology,  a  wholesome  moral  on  the  vanity,  no  less 
than  on  the  absurdity  of  the  race,  might  be  here 
introduced  to  some  advantage. 

When  Mark  Heathcote  announced  to  the  commu 
nity,  in  which  he  had  now  sojourned  more  than 
twenty  years,  that  he  intended  for  a  second  time 
to  establish  his  altars  in  the  wilderness,  in  the  hope 
that  he  and  his  household  might  worship  God  as  to 
them  seemed  most  right,  the  intelligence  was  receiv 
ed  with  a  feeling  allied  to  awe.  Doctrine  and  zeal 
were  momentarily  forgotten,  in  the  respect  and  at 
tachment  which  had  been  unconsciously  created 
by  the  united  influence  of  the  stern  severity  of  his 
air,  and  of  the  undeniable  virtues  of  his  practice. 
The  elders  of  the  settlement  communed  with  him 
freely  and  in  charity;  but  the  voice  of  conciliation 
and  alliance  came  too  late.  He  listened  to  the  rea 
sonings  of  the  ministers,  who  were  assembled  from 
all  the  adjoining  parishes,  in  sullen  respect :  and  he 
joined  in  the  petitions  for  light  and  instruction,  that 
were  offered  up  on  the  occasion,  with  the  deep  rev- 


16  THE    WEPT 

erence  with  which  he  ever  drew  near  to  the  foot 
stool  of  the  Almighty ;  but  he  did  both  in  a  temper 
into  which  too  much  positiveness  of  spiritual  pride 
had  entered,  to  open  his  heart  to  that  sympathy 
and  charity,  which,  as  they  are  the  characteristics 
of  our  mild  and  forbearing  doctrines,  should  be  the 
study  of  those  who  profess  to  follow  their  precepts. 
All  that  was  seemly,  and  all  that  was  usual,  were 
done;  but  the  purpose  of  the  stubborn  sectarian 
remained  unchanged.  His  final  decision  is  worthy 
of  being  recorded. 

'*  My  youth  was  wasted  in  ungodliness  and  igno 
rance,"  he  said,  "  but  in  my  manhood  have  I  known 
the  Lord.  Near  two-score  years  have  I  toiled  for 
the  truth,  and  all  that  weary  time  have  I  past  in 
trimming  my  lamps,  lest,  like  the  foolish  virgins,  I 
should  be  caught  unprepared ;  and  now,  when  my 
loins  are  girded  and  my  race  is  nearly  run,  shall  I 
become  a  backslider  and  falsifier  of  the  word?  Much 
have  I  endured,  as  you  know,  in  quitting  the  earthly 
mansion  of  my  fathers,  and  in  encountering  the  dan 
gers  of  sea  and  land  for  the  faith ;  and,  rather  than 
let  go  its  hold,  will  I  once  more  cheerfully  devote 
to  the  howling  wilderness,  ease,  offspring,  and,  should 
it  be  the  will  of  Providence,  life  itself!" 

The  day  of  parting  was  one  of  unfeigned  and 
general  sorrow.  Notwithstanding  the  austerity  of 
the  old  man's  character,  and  the  nearly  unbending 
severity  of  his  brow,  the  milk  of  human  kindness 
had  often  been  seen  distilling  from  his  stern  nature 
in  acts  that  did  not  admit  of  misinterpretation. 
There  was  scarcely  a  young  beginner  in  the  labo 
rious  and  ill-requited  husbandry  of  the  township  he 
inhabited,  a  district  at  no  time  considered  either 
profitable  or  fertile,  who  could  not  recall  some  secret 
and  kind  aid  which  had  flowed  from  a  hand  that, 
to  the  world,  seemed  clenched  in  cautious  and  re 
served  frugality;  nor  did  any  of  the  faithful  of  his 


OF  WISH-TON   WISH  17 

vicinity  cast  their  fortunes  together  in  wedlock, 
without  receiving  from  him  evidence  of  an  interest 
in  their  worldly  happiness,  that  was  far  more  sub 
stantial  than  words. 

On  the  morning  when  the  vehicles,  groaning  with 
the  household  goods  of  Mark  Heathcote,  were  seen 
quitting  his  door,  and  taking  the  road  which  led  to 
the  sea-side,  not  a  human  being,  of  sufficient  age, 
within  many  miles  of  his  residence,  was  absent  from 
the  interesting  spectacle.  The  leave-taking,  as 
usual  on  all  serious  occasions,  was  preceded  by  a 
hymn  and  prayer,  and  then  the  sternly-minded 
adventurer  embraced  his  neighbors,  with  a  mien, 
in  which  a  subdued  exterior  struggled  fearfully 
and  strangely  with  emotions  that,  more  than  once, 
threatened  to  break  through  even  the  formidable 
barriers  of  his  acquired  manner.  The  inhabitants 
of  every  building  on  the  road  were  in  the  open  air, 
to  receive  and  to  return  the  parting  benediction. 
More  than  once,  they,  who  guided  his  teams,  were 
commanded  to  halt,  and  all  near,  possessing  human 
aspirations  and  human  responsibility,  were  collected 
to  offer  petitions  in  favor  of  him  who  departed  and 
of  those  who  remained.  The  requests  for  mortal 
privileges  were  somewnat  light  and  hasty,  but  the 
askings  in  behalf  of  intellectual  and  spiritual  light 
were  long,  fervent,  and  oft-repeated.  In  this  charac 
teristic  manner  did  one  of  the  first  of  the  emigrants 
to  the  new  world  make  his  second  removal  into 
scenes  of  renewed  bodily  suffering,  privation  and 
danger. 

Neither  person  nor  property  was  transferred  from 
place  to  place,  in  this  country,  at  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  with  the  dispatch  and  with 
the  facilities  of  the  present  time.  The  roads  were 
necessarily  few  and  short,  and  communication  by 
water  was  irregular,  tardy,  and  far  from  commodi 
ous.  A  wide  barrier  of  forest  lying  between  that 
2* 


18  THE  WEPT 

portion  of  Massachusetts-bay  from  which  Mark 
Heathcote  emigrated,  and  the  spot,  near  the  Con 
necticut  river,  to  which  it  was  his  intention  to  pro 
ceed,  he  was  induced  to  adopt  the  latter  mode  of 
conveyance.  But  a  long  delay  intervened  between 
the  time  when  he  commenced  his  short  journey  to 
the  coast,  and  the  hour  when  he  was  finally  enabled 
to  embark.  During  this  detention  he  and  his  house 
hold  sojourned  among  the  godly-minded  of  the 
narrow  peninsula,  where  there  already  existed  the 
germ  of  a  flourishing  town,  and  where  the  spires 
of  a  noble  and  picturesque  city  now  elevate  them 
selves  above  so  many  thousand  roofs. 

The  son  did  not  leave  the  colony  of  his  birth  and 
the  haunts  of  his  youth,  with  the  same  unwavering 
obedience  to  the  call  of  duty,  as  the  father.  There 
was  a  fair,  a  youthful,  and  a  gentle  being  in  the 
recently-established  town  of  Boston,  of  an  age, 
station,  opinions,  fortunes,  and,  what  was  of  still 
greater  importance,  of  sympathies  suited  to  his  own. 
Her  form  had  long  mingled  with  those  holy  images, 
which  his  stern  instruction  taught  him  to  keep  most 
familiarly  before  the  mirror  of  his  thoughts.  It  is 
not  surprising,  then,  that  the  youth  hailed  the  delay 
as  propitious  to  his  wishes,  or  that  he  turned  it  to 
the  account,  which  the  promptings  of  a  pure  affec 
tion  so  naturally  suggested.  He  was  united  to  the 
gentle  Ruth  Harding  only  the  week  before  the 
father  sailed  on  his  second  pilgrimage. 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  dwell  on  the  incidents  of 
the  voyage.  Though  the  genius  of  an  extraor 
dinary  man  had  discovered  the  world  which  was 
now  beginning  to  fill  with  civilized  men,  navigation 
at  that  day  was  not  brilliant  in  accomplishments. 
A  passage  among  the  shoals  of  Nantucket  must 
have  been  one  of  actual  danger,  no  less  than  of 
terror ;  and  the  ascent  of  the  Connecticut  itself  was 
an  exploit  worthy  of  being  mentioned.  In  due  time 


OF  wiSH-TON-wisn.  19 

the  adventurers  landed  at  the  English  fort  of  Hart 
ford,  where  they  tarried  for  a  season,  in  order  to 
obtain  rest  and  spiritual  comfort.  But  the  peculi 
arity  of  doctrine,  on  which  Mark  Heathcote  laid  so 
much  stress,  was  one  that  rendered  it  advisable  for 
him  to  retire  still  further  from  the  haunts  of  men. 
Accompanied  by  a  few  followers,  he  proceeded  on 
an  exploring  expedition,  and  the  end  of  the  summer 
found  him  once  more  established  on  an  estate  that 
he  had  acquired  by  the  usual  simple  forms  practised 
in  the  colonies,  and  at  the  trifling  cost  for  which 
extensive  districts  were  then  set  apart  as  the  prop 
erty  of  individuals. 

The  love  of  the  things  of  this  life,  while  it  cer 
tainly  existed,  was  far  from  being  predominant  in 
the  affections  of  the  Puritan.  He  was  frugal  from 
habit  and  principle,  more  than  from  an  undue 
longing  after  worldly  wealth.  He  contented  himself, 
therefore,  with  acquiring  an  estate  that  should  be 
valuable,  rather  from  its  quality  and  beauty,  than 
from  its  extent.  Many  such  places  offered  them 
selves,  between  the  settlements  of  Weathersfield 
and  Hartford,  and  that  imaginary  line  which  sep 
arated  the  possessions  of  the  colony  he  had  quitted, 
from  those  of  the  one  he  joined.  He  made  his  loca 
tion,  as  it  is  termed  in  the  language  of  the  country, 
near  the  northern  boundary  of  the  latter.  This 
spot,  by  the  aid  of  an  expenditure  that  might  have 
been  considered  lavish  for  the  country  and  the  age, 
of  some  lingering  of  taste,  which  even  the  self- 
denying  and  subdued  habits  of  his  later  life  had 
not  entirely  extinguished,  and  of  great  natural 
beauty  in  the  distribution  of  land,  water  and  wood, 
the  emigrant  contrived  to  convert  into  an  abode, 
that  was  not  more  desirable  for  its  retirement  from 
the  temptations  of  the  world,  than  for  its  rural 
loveliness. 

After  this  memorable  act  of  conscientious  self- 


20  THE  WEPT 

devotion,  years  passed  away  in  quiet,  amid  a  species 
of  negative  prosperity.  Rumors  from  the  old  world 
reached  the  ears  of  the  tenants  of  this  secluded 
settlement,  months  after  the  events  to  which  they 
referred  were  elsewhere  forgotten,  and  tumults  and 
wars  in  the  sister  colonies  came  to  their  knowledge 
only  at  distant  and  tardy  intervals.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  limits  of  the  colonial  establishments  were 
gradually  extending  themselves,  and  valleys  were 
beginning  to  be  cleared  nearer  and  nearer  to  their 
own.  Old  age  had  now  begun  to  make  some  visible 
impression  on  the  iron  frame  of  the  Captain,  and 
the  fresh  color  of  youth  and  health,  with  which  his 
son  had  entered  the  forest,  was  giving  way  to  the 
brown  covering  produced  by  exposure  and  toil.  We 
say  of  toil,  for,  independently  of  the  habits  and 
opinions  of  the  country,  which  strongly  reprobated 
idleness,  even  in  those  most  gifted  by  fortune,  the 
daily  difficulties  of  their  situation,  the  chase,  and 
the  long  and  intricate  passages  that  the  veteran 
himself  was  compelled  to  adventure  in  the  sur 
rounding  forest,  partook  largely  of  the  nature  of 
the  term  we  have  used.  Ruth  continued  blooming 
and  youthful,  though  maternal  anxiety  was  soon 
added  to  her  other  causes  of  care.  Still,  for  a  long 
season,  nought  occurred  to  excite  extraordinary 
regrets  for  the  step  they  had  taken,  or  to  create 
particular  uneasiness  in  behalf  of  the  future.  The 
borderers,  for  such  by  their  frontier  position  they 
had  in  truth  become,  heard  the  strange  and  awful 
tidings  of  the  dethronement  of  one  king,  of  the 
interregnum,  as  a  reign  of  more  than  usual  vigor 
and  prosperity  is  called,  and  of  the  restoration  of 
the  son  of  him  who  is  strangely  enough  termed  a 
martyr.  To  all  these  eventful  and  unwonted  chances 
in  the  fortunes  of  kings,  Mark  Heathcote  listened 
with  deep  and  reverential  submission  to  the  will  of 
him,  in  whose  eyes  crowns  and  sceptres  are  merely 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  2 j. 

the  more  costly  baubles  of  the  world.  Like  most  of 
his  contemporaries,  who  had  sought  shelter  in  the 
western  continent,  his  political  opinions,  if  not  ab 
solutely  republican,  had  a  leaning  to  liberty  that 
was  strongly  in  opposition  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
divine  rights  of  the  monarch,  while  he  had  been 
too  far  removed  from  the  stirring  passions  which 
had  gradually  excited  those  nearer  to  the  throne, 
to  lose  their  respect  for  its  sanctity,  and  to  sully 
its  brightness  with  blood.  When  the  transient  and 
straggling  visiters  that,  at  long  intervals,  visited  his 
settlement,  spoke  of  the  Protector,  who  for  so  many 
years  ruled  England  with  an  iron  hand,  the  eyes  of 
the  old  man  would  gleam  with  sudden  and  singular 
interest ;  and  once,  when  commenting  after  evening 
prayer  on  the  vanity  and  the  vicissitudes  of  this  life, 
he  acknowledged  that  the  extraordinary  individual, 
who  was,  in  substance  if  not  in  name,  seated  on  the 
throne  of  the  Plantagenets,  had  been  the  -boon 
companion  and  ungodly  associate  of  many  of  his 
youthful  hours.  Then  would  follow  a  long,  whole 
some,  extemporaneous  homily  on  the  idleness  of 
setting  the  affections  on  the  things  of  life,  and  a 
half-suppressed,  but  still  intelligible  commendation 
of  the  wiser  course  which  had  led  him  to  raise  his 
own  tabernacle  in  the  wilderness,  instead  of  weak 
ening  the  chances  of  eternal  glory  by  striving  too 
much  for  the  possession  of  the  treacherous  vanities 
of  the  world. 

But  even  the  gentle  and  ordinarily  little  observant 
Ruth  might  trace  the  kindling  of  the  eye,  the  knit 
ting  of  the  brow,  and  the  flushings  of  his  pale  and  fur 
rowed  cheek,  as  the  murderous  conflicts  of  the  civil 
wars  became  the  themes  of  the  ancient  soldier's  dis 
course.  There  were  moments  when  religious  sub 
mission,  and  we  had  almost  said  religious  precepts, 
were  partially  forgotten,  as  he  explained  to  his  at 
tentive  son  and  listening  grandchild,  the  nature  of 


22  THE   WEPT 

the  onset,  or  the  quality  and  dignity  of  the  retreat. 
At  such  times,  his  still  nervous  hand  would  even 
wield  the  blade,  in  order  to  instruct  the  latter  in  its 
uses,  and  many  a  long  winter  evening  was  passed  in 
thus  indirectly  teaching  an  art,  that  was  so  much  at 
variance  with  the  mandates  of  his  divine  master. 
The  chastened  soldier,  however,  never  forgot  to  close 
his  instruction  with  a  petition  extraordinary,  in  the 
customary  prayer,  that  no  descendant  of  his  should 
ever  take  life  from  a  being  unprepared  to  die,  except 
in  justifiable  defence  of  his  faith,  his  person,  or  his 
lawful  rights.  It  must  be  admitted,  that  a  liberal 
construction  of  the  reserved  privileges  would  leave 
sufficient  matter,  to  exercise  the  subtlety  of  one 
subject  to  any  extraordinary  propensity  to  arms. 

Few  opportunities  were  however  offered,  in  their 
remote  situation  and  with  their  peaceful  habits,  for 
the  practice  of  a  theory  that  had  been  taught  in  so 
many  lessons.  Indian  alarms,  as  they  were  termed, 
were  not  unfrequent,  but,  as  yet,  they  had  never 
produced  more  than  terror  in  the  bosoms  of  the  gentle 
Ruth  and  her  young  offspring.  It  is  true,  they  had 
heard  of  travellers  massacred,  and  of  families  sep 
arated  by  captivity,  but,  either  by  a  happy  fortune, 
or  by  more  than  ordinary  prudence  in  the  settlers 
who  were  established  along  that  immediate  frontier, 
the  knife  and  the  tomahawk  had  as  yet  been  spar 
ingly  used  in  the  colony  of  Connecticut.  A  threat 
ening  and  dangerous  struggle  with  the  Dutch,  in  the 
adjoining  province  of  New-Netherlands,  had  been 
averted  by  the  foresight  and  moderation  of  the  rulers 
of  the  new  plantations ;  and  though  a  warlike  and 
powerful  native  chief  kept  the  neighboring  colonie? 
of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode-Island  in  a  state  of 
constant  watchfulness,  from  the  cause  just  mention 
ed  the  apprehension  of  danger  was  greatly  weak 
ened  in  the  breasts  of  those  so  remote  as  the  indi 
viduals  who  composed  the  family  of  our  emigrant. 


OF    WISH-TOX-W1SH.  28 

In  this  quiet  manner  did  years  glide  by,  the  sur 
rounding  wilderness  slowly  retreating  from  the  habi 
tations  of  the  Heathcotes,  until  they  found  them 
selves  in  the  possession  of  as  many  of  the  comforts 
of  life,  as  their  utter  seclusion  from  the  rest  of  the 
world  could  give  them  reason  to  expect. 

With  this  preliminary  explanation,  we  shall  refer 
the  reader  to  the  succeeding  narrative  for  a  more 
minute,  and  we  hope  for  a  more  interesting  account 
of  the  incidents  of  a  legend  that  may  prove  too 
homely  for  the  tastes  of  those,  whose  imaginations 
seek  the  excitement  of  scenes  more  stirring,  or  of  a 
condition  of  life  less  natural. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Sir,  I  do  know  you  ; 
And  dare,  upcn  the  warrant  of  my  art, 
Commend  a  dear  thing  to  you. 

KING  LEAR. 

AT  the  precise  time  when  the  action  of  our  piece 
commences,  a  fine  and  fruitful  season  was  drawing 
to  a  close.  The  harvests  of  the  hay  and  of  the 
smaller  corns  had  long  been  over,  and  the  younger 
Heathcote  with  his  laborers  had  passed  a  day  in  de 
priving  the  luxuriant  maize  of  its  tops,  in  order  to 
secure  the  nutritious  blades  for  fodder,  and  to  admit 
the  sun  and  air  to  harden  a  grain,  that  is  almost  con 
sidered  the  staple  production  of  the  region  he  in 
habited.  The  veteran  Mark  had  ridden  among  the 
workmen,  during  their  light  toil,  as  well  to  enjoy  a 
sight  which  promised  abundance  to  his  flocks  and 
herds,  as  to  throw  in,  on  occasion,  some  wholesome 
spiritual  precept,  in  which  doctrinal  subtlety  was 
far  more  prominent  than  the  rules  of  practice.  The 
hirelings  of  his  son,  for  he  had  long  since  yielded  the 
management  of  the  estate  to  Content,  were,  with- 


24  THE    WEPT 

out  an  exception,  young  men  born  in  the  country 
and  long  use  and  much  training  had  accustomed 
them  to  a  blending  of  religious  exercises  with  most 
of  the  employments  of  life.  They  listened,  there 
fore,  with  respect,  nor  did  an  impious  smile,  or  an 
impatient  glance,  escape  the  lightest-minded  of  their 
number,  during  his  exhortations,  though  the  homi 
lies  of  the  old  man  were  neither  very  brief,  nor  par 
ticularly  original.  But  devotion  to  the  one  great 
cause  of  their  existence,  austere  habits,  and  unre- 
laxed  industry  in  keeping  alive  a  flame  of  zeal  that 
had  been  kindled  in  the  other  hemisphere,  to  burn 
longest  and  brightest  in  this,  had  interwoven  the 
practice  mentioned  with  most  of  the  opinions  and 
pleasures  of  these  metaphysical,  though  simple- 
minded  people.  The  toil  went  on  none  the  less 
cheerily  for  the  extraordinary  accompaniment,  and 
Content  himself,  by  a  certain  glimmering  of  super 
stition,  which  appears  to  be  the  concomitant  of  ex 
cessive  religious  zeal,  was  fain  to  think  that  the  sun 
shone  more  brightly  on  their  labors,  and  that  the 
earth  gave  forth  more  of  its  fruits,  while  these  holy 
sentiments  were  flowing  from  the  lips  of  a  father 
whom  he  piously  loved  and  deeply  reverenced. 

But  when  the  sun,  usually  at  that  season,  in  the 
climate  of  Connecticut,  a  bright  unshrouded  orb, 
fell  towards  the  tree-tops  which  bounded  the  western 
horizon,  the  old  man  began  to  grow  weary  with  his 
own  well-doing.  He  therefore  finished  his  discourse 
with  a  wholesome  admonition  to  the  youths  to  com 
plete  their  tasks  before  they  quitted  the  field ;  and, 
turning  the  head  of  his  horse,  he  rode  slowly,  and 
with  a  musing  air,  towards  the  dwellings.  It  is  prob 
able  that  for  some  time  the  thoughts  of  Mark  were 
occupied  with  the  intellectual  matter  he  had  just 
been  handling  with  so  much  power ;  but  when  his 
little  nag  stopped  of  itself  on  a  small  eminence, 
which  the  crooked  cow-path  he  was  following  cross- 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  25 

ed,his  mind  yielded  to  the  imp  cession  of  more  worldly 
and  more  sensible  objects.  As  the  scene,  that  drew 
his  contemplations  from  so  many  abstract  theories 
to  the  realities  of  life,  was  peculiar  to  the  country, 
and  is  more  or  less  connected  with  the  subject  of 
our  tale,  we  shall  endeavor  briefly  to  describe  it. 

A  small  tributary  of  the  Connecticut  divided  the 
view  into  two  nearly  equal  parts.  The  fertile  flats 
that  extended  on  each  of  its  banks  for  more  than  a 
mile,  had  been  early  stripped  of  their  burthen  of 
forest,  and  they  now  lay  in  placid  meadows,  or  in 
fields  from  which  the  grain  of  the  season  had  lately 
disappeared,  and  over  which  the  plow  had  already 
left  the  marks  of  recent  tillage.  The  whole  of  the 
plain,  which  ascended  gently  from  the  rivulet  to 
wards  the  forest,  was  subdivided  in  inclosures,  by 
numberless  fences,  constructed  in  the  rude  but  sub 
stantial  manner  of  the  country.  Rails,  in  which 
lightness  and  economy  of  wood  had  been  but  little 
consulted,  lying  in  zigzag  lines,  like  the  approaches 
which  the  besieger  makes  in  his  cautious  advance 
to  the  hostile  fortress,  were  piled  on  each  other, 
until  barriers  seven  or  eight  feet  in  height,  were 
interposed  to  the  inroads  of  vicious  cattle.  In  one 
spot,  a  large  square  vacancy  had  been  cut  into  the 
forest,  and,  though  numberless  stumps  of  trees  dark- 
eaed  its  surface,  as  indeed  they  did  many  of  the 
fields  on  the  flats  themselves,  bright,  green  grain 
was  sprouting  forth,  luxuriantly,  from  the  rich  and 
virgin  soil.  High  against  the  side  of  an  adjacent 
hill,  that  might  aspire  to  be  called  a  low  rocky 
mountain,  a  similar  invasion  had  been  made  on  the 
dominion  of  the  trees ;  but  caprice  or  convenience 
had  induced  an  abandonment  of  the  clearing,  aftei 
it  had  ill  requited  the  toil  of  felling  the  timber  by 
a  single  crop.  In  this  spot,  straggling,  girdled,  and 
consequently  dead  trees,  piles  of  logs,  and  black  and 
charred  stubs,  were  seen  deforming  the  beauty  of  a. 
3 


26  THE    WEPT 

field,  that  would,  otherwise,  have  been  striking  from 
its  deep  setting  in  the  woods.  Much  of  the  surface 
of  this  opening,  too,  was  now  concealed  by  bushes 
of  what  is  termed  the  second  growth ;  though,  here 
and  there,  places  appeared,  in  which  the  luxuriant 
white  clover,  natural  to  the  country,  had  followed 
the  close  grazing  of  the  flocks.  The  eyes  of  Mark 
were  bent,  inquiringly,  on  this  clearing,  which,  by 
an  air  line,  might  have  been  half  a  mile  from  the 
place  where  his  horse  had  stopped,  for  the  soundg 
of  a  dozen  differently  toned  cow-bells  were  brought, 
on  the  still  air  of  the  evening,  to  his  ears,  from 
among  its  bushes. 

The  evidences  of  civilization  were  the  least 
equivocal,  however,  on  and  around  a  natural  eleva 
tion  in  the  land,  which  arose  so  suddenly  on  the 
very  bank  of  the  stream,  as  to  give  to  it  the  ap 
pearance  of  a  work  of  art.  Whether  these  mounds 
once  existed  everywhere  on  the  face  of  the  earth, 
and  have  disappeared  before  long  tillage  and  labor, 
we  shall  not  presume  to  conjecture ;  but  we  have 
reason  to  think  that  they  occur  much  more  fre 
quently  in  certain  parts  of  our  own  country,  than 
in  any  other  familiarly  knowr  to  ordinary  travel 
lers  ;  unless  perhaps  it  may  be  in  some  of  the  val 
leys  of  Switzerland.  The  practised  veteran  had 
chosen  the  summit  of  this  flattened  cone,  for  the 
establishment  of  that  species  of  military  defence, 
which  the  situation  of  the  country,  and  the  charac 
ter  of  the  enemy  he  had  to  guard  against,  rendered 
advisable,  as  well  as  customary. 

The  dwelling  was  of  wood,  and  constructed  of  the 
ordinary  frame-work,  with  its  thin  covering  of 
boards.  It  was  long,  low,  and  irregular ;  bearing 
marks  of  having  been  reared  at  different  periods, 
as  the  wants  of  an  increasing  family  had  required 
additional  accommodation.  It  stood  near  the  verge 
of  the  natural  declivity,  and  on  that  side  of  tK 


OF   WISH-TOJf-WISH.  27 

hill  where  its  base  was  washed  hy  the  rivulet,  a 
rude  piazza  stretching  along  the  whole  of  its  front 
and  overhanging  the  stream.  Several  large,  irreg 
ular,  and  clumsy  chimneys,  rose  out  of  different 
parts  of  the  roofs,  another  proof  that  comfort,  rather 
than  taste,  had  been  consulted  in  the  disposition  of 
the  buildings.  There  were  also  two  or  three  de 
tached  offices  on  the  summit  of  the  hill,  placed 
near  the  dwellings,  and  at  points  most  convenient 
for  their  several  uses.  A  stranger  might  have  re 
marked  that  they  were  so  disposed  as  to  form,  far 
as  they  went,  the  different  sides  of  a  hollow  square. 
Notwithstanding  the  great  length  of  the  principal 
building,  and  the  disposition  of  the  more  minute  and 
detached  parts,  this  desirable  formation  would  not, 
however,  have  been  obtained,  were  it  not  that  two 
rows  of  rude  constructions  in  logs,  from  which  the 
bark  had  not  even  been  stripped,  served  to  eke  out 
the  parts  that  were  deficient.  These  primeval  edi 
fices  were  used  to  contain  various  domestic  articles, 
no  less  than  provisions;  and  they  also  furnished  nu 
merous  lodging-rooms  for  the  laborers  and  the  infe 
rior  dependants  of  the  farm.  By  the  aid  of  a  few 
strong  and  high  gates  of  hewn  timber,  those  parts 
of  the  buildings  which  had  not  been  made  to  unite 
in  the  original  construction,  were  sufficiently  con 
nected  to  oppose  so  many  barriers  against  admission 
into  the  inner  court. 

But  the  building  which  was  most  conspicuous  by 
its  position,  no  less  than  by  the  singularity  of  its 
construction,  stood  on  a  low,  artificial  mound,  in  the 
centre  of  the  quadrangle.  It  was  high,  hexagonal 
in  shape,  and  crowned  with  a  roof  that  came  to  a 
point,  and  from  whose  peak  rose  a  towering  flag 
staff.  The  foundation  was  of  stone ;  but,  at  the 
height  of  a  man  above  the  earth,  the  sides  were 
made  of  massive,  squared  logs,  firmly  united  by  an 
ingenious  combination  of  their  ends,  as  well  as  by 


28  THE    WEPT 

perpendicular  supporters  pinned  closely  into  their 
fides.  In  this  citadel,  or  block-house,  as  from  its 
Jnaterials  it  was  technically  called,  there  were  two 
different  tiers  of  long,  narrow  loop-holes,  but  no 
regular  windows.  The  rays  of  the  setting  sun,  how 
ever,  glittered  on  one  or  two  small  openings  in  the 
roof,  in  which  glass  had  been  set,  furnishing  evidence 
that  the  summit  of  the  building  was  sometimes  used 
for  other  purposes  than  those  of  defence. 

About  half-way  up  the  sides  of  the  eminence,  on 
which  the  dwelling  stood,  was  an  unbroken  line  of 
high  palisadoes,  made  of  the  bodies  of  young  trees, 
firmly  knit  together  by  braces  and  horizontal  pieces 
of  timber,  and  evidently  kept  in  a  state  of  jealous 
and  complete  repair.  The  air  of  the  whole  of  this 
frontier  fortress  was  neat  and  comfortable,  and,  con 
sidering  that  the  use  of  artillery  was  unknown  to 
those  forests,  not  unmilitary. 

At  no  great  distance  from  the  base  of  the  hill, 
stood  the  barns  and  the  stables.  They  were  sur 
rounded  by  a  vast  range  of  rude  but  warm  sheds, 
beneath  which  sheep  and  horned  cattle  were  usually 
sheltered  from  the  storms  of  the  rigorous  winters 
of  the  climate.  The  surfaces  of  the  meadows,  im 
mediately  around  the  out-buildings,  were  of  a  smoother 
and  richer  sward,  than  those  in  the  distance,  and 
the  fences  were  on  a  far  more  artificial,  and  perhaps 
durable,  though  scarcely  on  a  more  serviceable  plan. 
A  large  orchard  of  some  ten  or  fifteen  years'  growth, 
too,  added  greatly  to  the  air  of  improvement,  which 
put  this  smiling  valley  in  such  strong  and  pleasing 
contrast  to  the  endless  and  nearly-untenanted  wood? 
by  which  it  was  environed. 

Of  the  interminable  forest,  it  is  not  necessary  to 
speak.  With  the  solitary  exception  on  the  moun 
tain-side,  and  of  here  and  there  a  wind-row,  along 
which  the  trees  had  been  uprooted,  by  the  furious 
blasts  that  sometimes  sweep  off  acres  of  our  trees 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  29 

in  a  minute,  the  eye  could  find  no  other  object  to 
study  in  the  vast  setting  of  this  quiet  rural  picture, 
but  the  seemingly  endless  maze  of  wilderness.  The 
broken  surface  of  the  land,  however,  limited  the 
view  to  an  horizon  of  no  great  extent,  though  the 
art  of  man  could  scarcely  devise  colors  so  vivid,  or 
so  gay,  is  those  which  were  afforded  by  the  brilliant 
hues  of  the  foliage.  The  keen,  biting  frosts,  known 
at  the  close  of  a  New-England  autumn,  had  already 
touched  the  broad  and  fringed  leaves  of  the  maples, 
and  the  sudden  and  secret  process  had  been  wrought 
upon  all  the  other  varieties  of  the  forest,  producing 
that  magical  effect,  which  can  be  nowhere  seen, 
except  in  regions  in  which  nature  is  so  bountiful  and 
luxuriant  in  summer,  and  so  sudden  and  so  stern  in 
the  change  of  the  seasons. 

Over  this  picture  of  prosperity  and  peace,  the 
eye  of  old  Mark  Heathcote  wandered  with  a  keen 
degree  of  worldly  prudence.  The  melancholy  sounds 
of  the  various  toned  bells,  ringing  hollow  and  plain 
tively  among  the  arches  of  the  woods,  gave  him  rea 
son  to  believe  that  the  herds  of  the  family  were  re 
turning,  voluntarily,  from  their  unlimited  forest  pas 
turage.  His  grandson,  a  fine  spirited  boy  of  some 
fourteen  years,  was  approaching  through  the  fields 
The  youngster  drove  before  him  a  small  flock,  which 
domestic  necessity  compelled  the  family  to  keep  at 
great  occasional  loss,  and  at  a  heavy  expense  of 
time  and  trouble ;  both  of  which  could  alone  protect 
them  from  the  ravages  of  the  beasts  of  prey.  A 
species  of  half-witted  serving-lad,  whom  charity  had 
induced  the  old  man  to  harbor  among  his  dependants, 
was  seen  issuing  from  the  woods,  nearly  in  a  line 
with  the  neglected  clearing  on  the  mountain-side. 
The  latter  advanced,  shouting  and  urging  before 
him  a  drove  of  colts,  as  shaggy,  as  wayward,  and 
nearly  as  untamed  as  himself. 
3* 


30  THE    WEPT 

"  How  now,  weak  one,"  said  the  Puritan,  with  a 
severe  eye,  as  the  two  lads  approached  him,  with 
their  several  charges,  from  different  directions,  and 
nearly  at  the  same  'nstant ;  "  how  now,  sirrah !  dost 
worry  the  cattle  in  this  gait,  when  the  eyes  of  the 
prudent  are  turned  from  thee  ?  Do  as  thou  wouldst 
be  done  by,  is  a  just  and  healthful  admonition,  that 
the  learned  and  the  simple,  the  weak  and  the  strong 
of  mind,  should  alike  recall  to  their  thoughts  and 
their  practice.  I  do  not  know  that  an  over-driven 
colt  will  be  at  all  more  apt  to  make  a  gentle  and 
useful  beast  in  its  prime,  than  one  treated  with 
kindness  and  care." 

"  I  believe  the  evil  one  has  got  into  all  the  kine, 
no  less  than  into  the  foals,"  sullenly  returned  the 
lad ;  "  I've  called  to  them  in  anger,  and  I've  spoken 
to  them  as  if  they  had  been  my  natural  kin,  and 
yet  neither  fair  word  nor  foul  tongue  will  bring  them 
to  hearken  to  advice.  There  is  something  frightful 
in  the  woods  this  very  sun-down,  master;  or  colts, 
that  I  have  driven  the  summer  through,  would  not 
be  apt  to  give  this  unfair  treatment  to  one  they 
ought  to  know  to  be  their  friend." 

"Thy  sheep  are  counted,  Mark?"  resumed  the 
grandfather,  turning  towards  his  descendant  with 
a  less  austere,  but  always  an  authoritative  brow; 
"  thy  mother  hath  need  of  every  fleece,  to  provide 
covering  for  thee  and  others  like  thee ;  thou  knowest, 
child,  that  the  creatures  are  few,  and  our  winters 
weary  and  cold." 

"  My  mother's  loom  shall  never  be  idle  from  care 
lessness  of  mine,"  returned  the  confident  boy ;  "  but 
counting  and  wishing  cannot  make  seven-and-thirty 
fleeces,  where  there  are  only  six-and-thirty  backs  to 
carry  them.  I  have  been  an  hour  among  the  briars 
and  bushes  of  the  hill  logging,  looking  for  the  lost 
wether,  and  yet  neither  lock,  hoof,  hide,  nor  horn, 
is  there  to  say  what  hath  befallen  the  animal." 


OF    WISH  TON- WISH.  31 

"  Thou  hast  lost  a  sheep  ! — this  carelessness  will 
cause  thy  mother  to  grieve." 

"  Grandfather,  I  have  been  no  idler.  Since  the 
last  hunt,  the  flock  hath  been  allowed  to  browse  the 
woods ;  for  no  man,  in  all  that  week,  saw  wolf,  pan 
ther,  or  bear,  though  the  country  was  up,  from  the 
great  river  to  the  outer  settlements  of  the  colony. 
The  biggest  four-footed  animal,  that  lost  its  hide  in 
the  muster,  was  a  thin-ribbed  deer,  and  the  stoutest 
battle  given,  was  between  wild  Whittal  Ring,  here, 
and  a  wood-chuck  that  kept  him  at  arm's-length,  for 
the  better  part  of  an  afternoon." 

"  Thy  tale  may  be  true,  but  it  neither  finds  that 
which  is  lost,  nor  completeth  the  number  of  thy 
mother's  flock.  Hast  thou  ridden  carefully  through 
out  the  clearing  1  It  is  not  long,  since  I  saw  the  ani 
mals  grazing  in  that  quarter.  What  hast  thou  twist 
ing  in  thy  fingers,  in  that  wasteful  and  unthankful 
manner,  Whittal?' 

"  What  would  make  a  winter  blanket,  if  there  was 
enough  of  it !  wool !  and  wool,  too,  that  came  from 
the  thigh  of  old  Straight-Horns ;  else  have  I  forgot 
ten  a  leg,  that  gives  the  longest  and  coarsest  hair  at 
the  shearing." 

"  That  truly  seemeth  a  lock  from  the  animal  that 
is  wanting,"  exclaimed  the  other  boy.  "  There  is 
no  other  creature  in  the  flock,  with  fleece  so  coarse 
and  shaggy.  Where  found  you  the  handful,  Whit 
tal  Ring?" 

"  Growing  on  the  branch  of  a  thorn.  Queer  fruit 
this,  masters,  to  be  seen  where  young  plums  ought 
to  ripen !" 

"  Go,  go,"  interrupted  the  old  man  ;  "  thou  idlest, 
and  mispendest  the  time  in  vain  talk.  Go,  fold  thy 
flock,  Mark;  and  do  thou,  weak-one,  house  thy  charge 
with  less  uproar  than  is  wont.  We  should  remem 
ber  that  the  voice  is  given  to  man,  firstly,  that  he 
may  improve  the  blessing  in  thanksgivings  and  pe- 


32  THE   WEPT 

titions ;  secondly,  to  communicate  such  gifts  as  may 
he  imparted  to  himself,  and  which  it  is  his  bounden 
duty  to  attempt  to  impart  to  others;  and  then,  thirdly, 
to  declare  his  natural  wants  and  inclinations." 

With  this  admonition,  which  probably  proceeded 
from  a  secret  consciousness  in  the  Puritan  that  he 
had  permitted  a  momentary  cloud  of  selfishness  to 
obscure  the  brightness  of  his  faith,  the  party  sepa 
rated.  The  grandson  and  the  hireling  took  their  seve 
ral  ways  to  the  folds,  while  old  Mark  himself  slowly 
continued  his  course  towards  the  dwellings.  It  was 
near  enough  to  the  hours  of  darkness,  to  render  the 
preparations  we  have  mentioned  prudent ;  still,  no 
urgency  called  for  particular  haste,  in  the  return  of 
the  veteran  to  the  shelter  and  protection  of  his  own 
comfortable  and  secure  abode.  He  therefore  loiter 
ed  along  the  path,  occasionally  stopping  to  look  into 
the  prospects  of  the  young  crops,  that  were  begin 
ning  to  spring  up  in  readiness  for  the  coming  year, 
and  at  times  bending  his  gaze  around  the  whole  of 
his  limited  horizon,  like  one  who  had  the  habit  of 
exceeding  and  unremitted  care. 

One  of  these  numerous  pauses  promised  to  be 
much  longer  than  usual.  Instead  of  keeping  his  un 
derstanding  eye  on  the  grain,  the  look  of  the  old 
man  appeared  fastened,  as  by  a  charm,  on  some  dis 
tant  and  obscure  object.  Doubt  and  uncertainty, 
for  many  minutes,  seemed  to  mingle  in  his  gaze.  But 
all  hesitation  had  apparently  disappeared,  as  his  lips 
severed,  and  he  spoke,  perhaps  unconsciously  to  him 
self,  aloud. 

"  It  is  no  deception,"  were  the  low  words,  "  but  a 
living  and  an  accountable  creature  of  the  Lord's. 
Many  a  day  has  passed  since  such  a  sight  hath  been 
witnessed  in  this  vale ;  but  my  eye  greatly  deceives 
me,  or  yonder  cometh  one  ready  to  ask  for  hospital 
ity,  and,  peradventure,  for  Christian  and  brotherly 
communion." 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  33 

The  sight  of  the  aged  emigrant  had  not  deceived 
him.  One,  who  appeared  a  wayworn  and  weary 
traveller,  had  indeed  ridden  out  of  the  forest,  at  a 
point  where  a  path,  that  was  easier  to  be  traced  by 
the  blazed  trees  that  lay  along  its  route,  than  by  any 
marks  on  the  earth  itself,  issued  into  the  cleared 
land.  The  progress  of  the  stranger  had,  at  first, 
been  so  wary  and  slow,  as  to  bear  the  manner  of  ex 
ceeding  and  mysterious  caution.  The  blind  road, 
along  which  he  must  have  ridden  not  only  far  but 
hard,  or  night  had  certainly  overtaken  him  in  the 
woods,  led  to  one  of  the  distant  settlements  that  lay 
near  to  the  fertile  banks  of  the  Connecticut.  Few 
ever  followed  its  windings,  but  they  who  had  especial 
affairs,  or  extraordinary  communion,  in  the  way  of 
religious  friendships,  with  the  proprietors  of  the  Wish- 
Ton-Wish,  as,  in  commemoration  of  the  first  bird 
that  had  been  seen  by  the  emigrants,  the  valley  of 
the  Heathcotes  was  called. 

Once  fairly  in  view,  any  doubt  or  apprehension, 
that  the  stranger  might  at  first  have  entertained, 
disappeared.  He  rode  boldly  and  steadily  forward, 
until  he  drew  a  rein  that  his  impoverished  and 
weary  beast  gladly  obeyed,  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
proprietor  of  the  valley,  whose  gaze  had  never  ceased 
to  watch  his  movements,  from  the  instant  when  the 
other  first  came  within  view.  Before  speaking,  the 
stranger,  a  man  whose  head  was  getting  gray,  appa 
rently  as  much  with  hardship  as  with  time,  and  one 
whose  great  weight  would  have  proved  a  grievous 
burthen,  in  a  long  ride,  to  even  a  bettei -conditioned 
beast  than  the  ill-favored  provincial  hack  he  had 
ridden,  dismounted,  and  threw  the  bridle  loose  upon 
the  drooping  neck  of  the  animal.  The  latter,  with 
out  a  moment's  delay,  and  with  a  greediness  that  de 
noted  long  abstinence,  profited  by  its  liberty,  to  crop 
the  herbage  where  it  stood. 

"I  cannot  be  mistaken,  when  I  suppose  that  I 


34  THE    WEPT 

have  at  length  reached  the  valley  of  the  Wish-Ton- 
Wish,"  the  visiter  said,  touching  a  soiled  and  slouch 
ed  beaver  that  more  than  half  concealed  his  fea 
tures.  The  question  was  put  in  an  English  that  be 
spoke  a  descent  from  those  who  dwell  in  the  midland 
counties  of  the  mother  country,  rather  than  in  that 
intonation  which  is  still  to  be  traced,  equally  in  the 
western  portions  of  England  and  in  the  eastern  states 
of  the  Union.  Notwithstanding  the  purity  of  his 
accent,  there  was  enough  in  the  form  of  his  speech 
to  denote  a  severe  compliance  with  the  fashion  of 
the  religionists  of  the  times.  He  used  that  measured 
and  methodical  tone,  which  was,  singularly  enough, 
believed  to  distinguish  an  entire  absence  of  affecta 
tion  in  language. 

"Thou  hast  reached  the  dwelling  of  him  thou 
seekest ;  one  who  is  a  submissive  sojourner  in  the 
wilderness  of  the  world,  and  an  humble  servitor  in 
the  outer  temple." 

"  This  then  is  Mark  Heathcote !"  repeated  the 
stranger  in  tones  of  interest,  regarding  the  other 
with  a  look  of  long,  and,  possibly,  of  suspicious  in 
vestigation. 

"  Such  is  the  name  I  bear.  A  fitting  confidence 
in  him  who  knows  so  well  how  to  change  the  wilds 
into  the  haunts  of  men,  and  much  suffering,  have 
made  me  the  master  of  what  thou  seest.  Whether 
thou  comest  to  tarry  a  night,  a  week,  a  month,  or 
even  for  a  still  longer  season,  as  a  brother  in  care, 
and  I  doubt  not  one  who  striveth  for  the  right,  I  bid 
thee  welcome." 

The  stranger  thanked  his  host,  by  a  slow  inclina 
tion  of  the  head ;  but  the  gaze,  which  began  to  par 
take  a  little  of  the  look  of  recognition,  was  still  too 
earnest  and  engrossing  to  admit  of  verbal  reply.  On 
the  other  hand,  though  the  old  man  had  scanned  the 
broad  and  rusty  beaver,  the  coarse  and  well-worn 
doublet,  the  heavy  boots  and,  in  short,  the  whole 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  35 

attire  of  his  visiter,  in  which  he  saw  no  vain  conform 
ity  to  idle  fashions  to  condemn,  it  was  evident  that 
personal  recollection  had  not  the  smallest  influence 
in  quickening  his  hospitality. 

"Thou  hast  arrived  happily,"  continued  the 
Puritan :  "  had  night  overtaken  thee  in  the  forest, 
unless  much  practised  in  the  shifts  of  our  young 
woodsmen,  hunger,  frost,  and  a  supperless  bed  of 
brush,  would  have  given  thee  motive  to  think  more 
of  the  body  than  is  either  profitable  or  seemly." 

The  stranger  might  possibly  have  known  the 
embarrassment  of  these  several  hardships ;  for  the 
quick  and  unconscious  glance  he  threw  over  his 
soiled  dress,  should  have  betrayed  some  familiarity, 
already,  with  the  privations  to  which  his  host 
alluded.  As  neither  of  them,  however,  seemed 
disposed  to  waste  further  time  on  matters  of  such 
light  moment,  the  traveller  put  an  arm  through  the 
bridle  of  his  horse,  and,  in  obedience  to  an  invita 
tion  from  the  owner  of  the  dwelling,  they  took  their 
way  towards  the  fortified  edifice  on  the  natural  mound. 

The  task  of  furnishing  litter  and  provender  to 
the  jaded  beast  was  performed  by  Whittal  Ring, 
under  the  inspection,  and,  at  times,  under  the  in 
structions,  of  its  owner  and  his  host,  both  of  whom 
appeared  to  take  a  kind  and  commendable  interest 
in  the  comfort  of  a  faithful  hack,  that  had  evidently 
suffered  long  and  much  in  the  service  of  its  master. 
When  this  duty  was  discharged,  the  old  man  and 
his  unknown  guest  entered  the  house  together;  the 
frank  and  unpretending  hospitality  of  a  country 
like  that  they  were  in,  rendering  suspicion  or  hesita 
tion  qualities  that  were  unknown  to  the  reception 
of  a  man  of  white  blood;  more  especially  if  he 
spoke  the  language  of  the  island,  which  was  then 
first  sending  out  its  swarms,  to  subdue  and  possess 
so  large  a  portion  of  a  continent  that  nearly  divides 
the  earth  in  moieties. 


THE  WEPT 


CHAPTER  III. 

"This  is  most  strange :  your  father's  in  some  passion 
That  works  him  strongly." 

TEMPEST. 

A  FEW  hours  made  a  great  change  in  the  occupa 
tions  of  the  different  members  of  our  simple  and 
secluded  family.  The  kine  had  yielded  their  nightly 
tribute ;  the  oxen  had  been  released  from  the  yoke, 
and  were  now  secure  beneath  their  sheds;  the  sheep 
were  in  their  folds,  safe  from  the  assaults  of  the 
prowling  wolf;  and  care  had  been  taken  to  see  that 
every  thing  possessing  life  was  gathered  within  the 
particular  defences  that  were  provided  for  its  se 
curity  and  comfort.  But  while  all  this  caution  was 
used  in  behalf  of  living  things,  the  utmost  indiffer 
ence  prevailed  on  the  subject  of  that  species  of 
movable  property,  which,  elsewhere,  would  have 
been  guarded  with,  at  least,  an  equal  jealousy. 
The  homely  fabrics  of  the  looms  of  Ruth  lay  on 
their  bleaching-ground,  to  drink  in  the  night-dew ; 
and  plows,  harrows,  carts,  saddles,  and  other  similar 
articles,  were  left  in  situations  so  exposed,  as  to 
prove  that  the  hand  of  man  had  occupations  so 
numerous  and  so  urgent,  as  to  render  it  inconvenient 
to  bestow  labor  where  it  was  not  considered  abso 
lutely  necessary. 

Content  himself  was  the  last  to  quit  the  fields  and 
the  out-buildings.  When  he  reached  the  postern  in 
the  palisadoes,  he  stopped  to  call  to  those  above 
him,  in  order  to  learn  if  any  yet  lingered  without 
the  wooden  barriers.  The  answer  being  in  the 
negative,  he  entered,  and  drawing-to  the  small  but 
heavy  gate,  he  secured  it  with  bar,  bolt,  and  lock, 
carefully  and  jealously,  with  his  own  hand.  As  this 
was  no  more  than  a  nightly  and  necessary  precau- 


OF   WISH-TOJT-WISH.  37 

tion,  the  affairs  of  the  family  received  no  interrup 
tion.  The  meal  of  the  hour  was  soon  ended ;  and 
conversation,  with  those  light  toils  which  are  pe 
culiar  to  the  long  evenings  of  the  fall  and  winter 
in  families  on  the  frontier,  succeeded  as  fitting  em 
ployments  to  close  the  business  of  a  laborious  and 
well-spent  day. 

Notwithstanding  the  entire  simplicity  which 
marked  the  opinions  and  usages  of  the  colonists  at 
that  period,  and  the  great  equality  of  condition 
which  even  to  this  hour  distinguishes  the  particular 
community  of  which  we  write,  choice  and  inclina 
tion  drew  some  natural  distinctions  in  the  ordinary 
intercourse  of  the  inmates  of  the  Heathcote  family. 
A  fire  so  bright  and  cheerful  blazed  on  an  enormous 
hearth  in  a  sort  of  upper  kitchen,  as  to  render 
candles  or  torches  unnecessary.  Around  it  were 
seated  six  or  seven  hardy  and  athletic  young  men, 
some  drawing  coarse  tools  carefully  through  the 
curvatures  of  ox-bows,  others  scraping  down  the 
helves  of  axes,  or  perhaps  fashioning  sticks  of  birch 
into  homely  but  convenient  brooms.  A  demure, 
side-looking  young  woman  kept  her  great  wheel 
in  motion;  while  one  or  two  others  were  passing 
from  room  to  room,  with,  the  notable  and  stirring 
industry  of  handmaidens,  busied  in  the  more  familiar 
cares  of  the  household.  A  door  communicated  with 
an  inner  and  superior  apartment.  Here  was  a 
smaller  but  an  equally  cheerful  fire,  a  floor  which 
had  recently  been  swept,  while  that  without  had 
been  freshly  sprinkled  with  river  sand;  candles 
of  tallow,  on  a  table  of  cherry-wood  from  the 
neighboring  forest ;  walls  that  were  wainscoted  in 
the  black  oak  of  the  country,  and  a  few  other 
articles,  of  a  fashion  so  antique,  and  of  ornaments 
so  ingenious  and  rich,  as  to  announce  that  they  had 
been  transported  from  beyond  sea.  Above  the 
mantel  were  suspended  the  armorial  bearings  of 
4 


38  THE    WEPT 

the  Heathcotes  and  the  Hardings,  elaborately  em 
blazoned  in  tent-stitch. 

The  principal  personages  of  the  family  were  seat 
ed  around  the  latter  hearth,  while  a  straggler  from 
the  other  room,  of  more  than  usual  curiosity,  had 
placed  himself  among  them,  marking  the  distinction 
in  ranks,  or  rather  in  situation,  merely  by  the  ex 
traordinary  care  which  he  took  that  none  of  the 
scrapings  should  litter  the  spotless  oaken  floor. 

Until  this  period  of  the  evening,  the  duties  of 
hospitality  and  the  observances  of  religion  had  pre 
vented  familiar  discourse.  But  the  offices  of  the 
housewife  were  now  ended  for  the  night,  the  hand 
maidens  had  all  retired  to  their  wheels,  and,  as  the 
bustle  of  a  busy  and  more  stirring  domestic  in 
dustry  ceased,  the  cold  and  self-restrained  silence 
which  had  hitherto  only  been  broken  by  distant 
and  brief  observations  of  courtesy,  or  by  some 
wholesome  allusion  to  the  lost  and  probationary 
condition  of  man,  seemed  to  invite  an  intercourse 
of  a  more  general  character. 

"  You  entered  my  clearing  by  the  southern  path," 
commenced  Mark  Heathcote,  addressing  himself  to 
his  guest  with  sufficient  courtesy,  "  and  needs  must 
bring  tidings  from  the  towns  on  the  river  side.  Has 
aught  been  done  by  our  councillors,  at  home,  in  the 
matter  that  pertaineth  so  closely  to  the  well-being 
of  this  colony  1 " 

"  You  would  have  me  say  whether  he  that  now 
sitteth  on  the  throne  of  England,  hath  listened  to 
the  petitions  of  his  people  in  this  province,  and  hath 
granted  them  protection  against  the  abuses  which 
might  so  readily  flow  out  of  his  own  ill-advised  will, 
or  out  of  the  violence  and  injustice  of  his  successors? 

"We  will  render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are 
Caesar's ;  and  speak  reverently  of  men  having  au 
thority.  I  would  fain  know  whether  the  agent  sent 
by  our  people  hath  gained  the  ears  of  those  who 


or  WISH-TON-WISH.  39 

counsel  the  prince,  and  obtained  that  which  he 
sought?" 

"  Be  hath  done  more,"  returned  the  stranger, 
with  singular  asperity ;  "  he  hath  even  gained  the 
ear  of  the  Lord's  Anointed." 

"  Then  is  Charles  of  better  mind,  and  of  stronger 
justice,  than  report  hath  spoken.  We  were  told  that 
light  manners  and  unprofitable  companions  had  led 
him  to  think  more  of  the  vanities  of  the  world,  and 
less  of  the  wants  of  those  over  whom  he  hath  been 
called  by  Providence  to  rule,  than  is  meet  for  one 
that  sitteth  on  a  high  place.  I  rejoice  that  the  ar 
guments  of  the  man  we  sent  have  prevailed  over 
more  evil  promptings,  and  that  peace  and  free 
dom  of  conscience  are  likely  to  be  the  fruits  of  the 
undertaking.  In  what  manner  hath  he  seen  fit  to 
order  the  future  government  of  this  people  ? " 

"  Much  as  it  hath  ever  stood ;  by  their  own  ordi 
nances.  Winthrop  hath  returned,  and  is  the  bearer 
of  a  Royal  Charter,  which  granteth  all  the  rights 
long  claimed  and  practised.  None  now  dwell  under 
the  Crown  of  Britain  with  fewer  offensive  demands 
on  their  consciences,  or  with  lighter  calls  on  their 
political  duties,  than  the  men  of  Connecticut." 

"It  is  fitting  that  thanks  should  be  rendered 
therefor,  where  thanks  are  most  due,"  said  the 
Puritan,  folding  his  hands  on  his  bosom,  and  sitting 
for  a  moment  with  closed  eyes,  like  one  who  com 
muned  with  an  unseen  being.  "  Is  it  known  by  what 
manner  of  argument  the  Lord  moved  the  heart  of 
the  Prince  to  hearken  to  our  wants ;  or  was  it  an 
open  and  manifest  token  of  his  power  1 " 

"  I  think  it  must  needs  have  been  the  latter," 
rejoined  the  visiter,  with  a  manner  that  grew  still 
more  caustic  and  emphatic.  "  The  bauble,  that  was 
the  visible  agent,  could  not  have  weighed  greatly 
with  one  so  proudly  seated  before  the  eyes  of  men." 

Until  this  point  in  the   discourse,  Content  and 


40  THE    WEPT 

Ruth,  with  their  offspring,  and  the  two  or  three  other 
individuals  who  composed  the  audience,  had  listened 
with  the  demure  gravity  which  characterized  the 
manners  of  the  country.  The  language,  united  with 
the  ill-concealed  sarcasm  conveyed  by  the  counte 
nance,  no  less  than  the  emphasis,  of  the  speaker, 
caused  them  now  to  raise  their  eyes,  as  by  a  com 
mon  impulse.  The  word  "  bauble  "  was  audibly  and 
curiously  repeated.  But  the  look  of  cold  irony  had 
already  passed  from  the  features  of  the  stranger, 
and  it  had  given  place  to  a  stern  and  fixed  austerity, 
that  imparted  a  character  of  grimness  to  his  hard 
and  sun-burnt  visage.  Still  he  betrayed  no  disposi 
tion  to  shrink  from  the  subject,  but,  after  regarding 
his  auditors  with  a  glance  in  which  pride  and  suspi 
cion  were  strongly  blended,  he  resumed  the  discourse. 

"  It  is  known,"  he  added,  "  that  the  grandfather 
of  him  the  good  people  of  these  settlements  have 
commissioned  to  bear  their  wants  over  sea,  lived  in 
the  favor  of  the  man  who  last  sat  upon  the  throne 
of  England;  and  a  rumor  goeth  forth,  that  the  Stuart, 
in  a  moment  of  princely  condescension,  once  decked 
the  finger  of  his  subject,  with  a  ring  wrought  in  a 
curious  fashion.  It  was  a  token  of  the  love  which  a 
monarch  may  bear  a  man." 

"  Such  gifts  are  beacons  of  friendship,  but  may 
not  be  used  as  gay  and  sinful  ornaments,"  observed 
Mark,  while  the  other  paused  like  one  who  wished 
none  of  the  bitterness  of  his  allusions  to  be  lost. 

"  It  matters  not  whether  the  bauble  lay  in  the 
coffers  of  the  Winthrops,  or  has  long  been  glittering 
before  the  eyes  of  the  faithful,  in  the  Bay,  since  it 
hath  finally  proved  to  be  a  jewel  of  price,"  con 
tinued  the  stranger.  "  It  is  said,  in  secret,  that  this 
ring  hath  returned  to  the  finger  of  a  Stuart,  and  it  is 
openly  proclaimed  that  Connecticut  hath  a  Charter!" 

Content  and  his  wife  regarded  each  other  in  mel 
ancholy  amazement.  Such  an  evidence  of  wanton 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  41 

levity  and  of  airworthiness  of  motive,  in  one  who 
was  intrusted  with  the  gift  of  earthly  government, 
pained  their  simple  and  upright  minds ;  while  old 
Mark,  of  still  more  decided  and  exaggerated  ideas 
of  spiritual  perfection,  distinctly  groaned  aloud. 
The  stranger  took  a  sensible  pleasure  in  this  testi 
mony  of  their  abhorrence  of  so  gross  and  so  unwor 
thy  a  venality,  though  he  saw  no  occasion  to  heighten 
its  effect  by  further  speech.  When  his  host  stood 
erect,  and,  in  a  voice  that  was  accustomed  to  obe 
dience,  he  called  on  his  family  to  join,  in  behalf  of 
the  reckless  ruler  of  the  land  of  their  fathers,  in  a 
petition  to  him  who  alone  could  soften  the  hearts 
of  Princes,  he  also  arose  from  his  seat.  But  even 
in  this  act  of  devotion,  the  stranger  bore  the  air 
of  one  who  wished  to  do  pleasure  to  his  entertain 
ers,  rather  than  to  obtain  that  which  was  asked. 

The  prayer,  though  short,  was  pointed,  fervent, 
and  sufficiently  personal.  The  wheels  in  the  outer 
room  ceased  their  hum,  and  a  general  movement 
denoted  that  all  there  had  arisen  to  join  in  the  office; 
while  one  or  two  of  their  number,  impelled  by  deeper 
piety  or  stronger  interest,  drew  near  to  the  open 
door  between  the  rooms,  in  order  to  listen.  With 
this  singular  but  characteristic  interruption,  that 
particular  branch  of  the  discourse,  which  had  given 
rise  to  it,  altogether  ceased. 

"  And  have  we  reason  to  dread  a  rising  of  the 
savages  on  the  borders  ?"  asked  Content,  when  he 
found  that  the  moved  spirit  of  his  father  was  not 
yet  sufficiently  calmed,  to  return  to  the  examination 
of  temporal  things ;  "  one  who  brought  wares  from 
the  towns  below,  a  few  months  since,  recited  reasons 
to  fear  a  movement  among  the  red  men." 

The  subject  had  not  sufficient  interest  to  open 

the  ears  of  the  stranger.     He  was  deaf,  or  he  chose 

to  affect  deafness,  to  the  interrogatory.    Laying  his 

two  large  and  weather-worn,  though  still  muscular 

4* 


42  THE  WEPT 

hands,  on  a  visage  that  was  much  darkened  by  ex 
posure,  he  appeared  to  shut  out  the  objects  of  the 
world,  while  he  communed  deeply,  and,  as  would 
seem  by  a  slight  tremor,  that  shook  even  his  pow 
erful  frame,  terribly,  with  his  own  thoughts. 

"  We  have  many  to  whom  our  hearts  strongly 
cling,  to  heighten  the  smallest  symptom  of  alarm 
from  that  quarter,"  added  the  tender  and  anxious 
mother,  her  eye  glancing  at  the  uplifted  countenances 
of  two  little  girls,  who,  busied  with  their  light 
needle-work,  sate  on  stools  at  her  feet.  "  But  I  re 
joice  to  see,  that  one  who  hath  journeyed  from  parts 
where  the  minds  of  the  savages  must  be  better  un 
derstood,  hath  not  feared  to  do  it  unarmed." 

The  traveller  slowly  uncovered  his  features,  and 
the  glance  that  his  eye  shot  over  the  face  of  the 
last  speaker,  was  not  without  a  gentle  and  interested 
expression.  Instantly  recovering  his  composure,  he 
arose,  and,  turning  to  the  double  leathern  sack, 
which  had  been  borne  on  the  crupper  of  his  nag, 
and  which  now  lay  at  no  great  distance  from  his 
seat,  he  drew  a  pair  of  horseman's  pistols  from  two 
well-contrived  pockets  in  its  sides,  and  laid  them  de 
liberately  on  the  table. 

"Though  little  disposed  to  seek  an  encounter 
with  any  bearing  the  image  of  man,"  he  said,  "  I 
have  not  neglected  the  usual  precautions  of  those 
who  enter  the  wilderness.  Here  are  weapons  that, 
4n  steady  hands,  might  easily  take  life,  or,  at  need 
preserve  it." 

The  young  Mark  drew  near  with  boyish  curiosity, 
and  while  one  finger  ventured  to  touch  a  lock,  as 
he  stole  a  conscious  glance  of  wrong-doing  towards 
his  mother,  he  said,  with  as  much  of  contempt  in 
his  air,  as  the  schooling  of  his  manners  would  al 
low — 

"  An  Indian  arrow  would  make  a  surer  aim,  than 
a  bore  as  short  as  this !  When  the  trainer  from  the 


OF    WISH-TOX-WISH.  43 

Hartford  town,  struck  the  wild-cat  on  the  hill  clear 
ing,  he  sent  the  bullet  from  a  five-foot  barrel ;  be 
sides,  this  short-sighted  gun  would  be  a  dull  weapon 
in  a  hug  against  the  keen-edged  knife,  that  the 
wicked  Wampanoag  is  known  to  carry." — 

"  Boy,  thy  years  are  few,  and  thy  boldness  of 
speech  marvellous,"  sternly  interrupted  his  parent 
in  the  second  degree. 

The  stranger  manifested  no  displeasure  at  the 
confident  language  of  the  lad.  Encouraging  him 
with  a  look,  which  plainly  proclaimed  that  martial 
qualities  in  no  degree  lessened  the  stripling  in  his 
favor,  he  observed  that — 

"  The  youth  who  is  not  afraid  to  think  of  the 
fight,  or  to  reason  on  its  chances,  will  lead  to  a  man 
hood  of  spirit  and  independence.  A  hundred  thou 
sand  striplings  like  this,  might  have  spared  Winthrop 
his  jewel,  and  the  Stuart  the  shame  of  yielding  to 
so  vain  and  so  trivial  a  bribe.  But  thou  mayst  also 
see,  child,  that  had  we  come  to  the  death-hug,  the 
wicked  Wampanoag  might  have  found  a  blade  as 
keen  as  his  own." 

The  stranger,  while  speaking,  loosened  a  few 
strings  of  his  doublet,  and  thrust  a  hand  into  his 
bosom.  The  action  enabled  more  than  one  eye  to 
catch  a  momentary  glimpse  of  a  weapon  of  the 
same  description,  but  of  a  size  much  smaller  than 
those  he  had  already  so  freely  exhibited.  As  he 
immediately  withdrew  the  member,  and  again 
closed  the  garment  with  studied  care,  no  one  pre 
sumed  to  advert  to  the  circumstance,  but  all  turned 
their  attention  to  the  long  sharp  hunting-knife  that 
he  deposited  by  the  side  of  the  pistols,  as  he  con 
cluded.  Mark  ventured  to  open  its  blade,  but  he 
turned  aw»y  with  sudden  consciousness,  when  he 
found  that  a  few  fibres  of  coarse,  shaggy  wool,  that 
were  drawn  from  the  loosened  joint,  adhered  to  his 
fingers. 


44  THE    WEPT 

"  Straight-Horns  has  been  against  a  bush  sharper 
than  the  thorn !"  exclaimed  Whittal  Ring,  who  had 
been  at  hand,  and  who  watched  with  childish  ad 
miration  the  smallest  proceedings  of  the  different 
individuals.  "  A  steel  for  the,  back  of  the  blade,  a 
few  dried  leaves  and  broken  sticks,  with  such  a 
carver,  would  soon  make  roast  and  broiled  of  the 
old  bell-wether  himself.  I  know  that  the  hair  of  all 
my  colts  is  sorrel,  and  I  counted  five  at  sun-down, 
which  is  just  as  many  as  went  loping  through  the 
underbrush  when  I  loosened  them  from  the  hopples 
in  the  morning ;  but  six-and-thirty  backs  can  never 
carry  seven-and-thirty  growing  fleeces  of  unsheared 
wool.  Master  knows  that,  for  he  is  a  scholar  and 
can  count  a  hundred !" 

The  allusion  to  the  fate  of  the  lost  sheep  was  so 
plain,  as  to  admit  of  no  misinterpretation  of  the 
meaning  of  the  witless  speaker.  Animals  of  that 
class  were  of  the  last  importance  to  the  comfort  oi 
the  settlers,  and  there  was  not  probably  one  within 
hearing  of  Whittal  Ring,  that  was  at  all  ignorant 
of  the  import  of  his  words.  Indeed,  the  loud  chuckle 
and  the  open  and  deriding  manner  with  which  the 
lad  himself  held  above  his  head  the  hairy  fibres 
that  he  had  snatched  from  young  Mark,  allowed  of 
no  concealment,  had  it  been  desirable. 

"  This  feeble-gifted  youth  would  hint,  that  thy 
knife  hath  proved  its  edge  on  a  wether  that  is  missing 
from  our  flock,  since  the  animals  went  on  their 
mountain  range,  in  the  morning,''  said  the  host, 
calmly ;  though  even  he  bent  his  eye  to  the  floor, 
as  he  waited  for  an  answer  to  a  remark,  direct  as 
the  one  his  sense  of  justice,  and  his  indomitable  love 
of  right,  had  prompted. 

The  stranger  demanded,  in  a  voice  that  lost  none 
of  its  depth  or  firmness,  "  Is  hunger  a  crime,  that 
they  who  dwell  so  far  from  the  haunts  of  selfishness, 
visit  it  with  their  anger  ?" 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  45 

"  The  foot  of  Christian  man  never  approached  the 
gates  of  Wish-Ton-Wish  to  be  turned  away  in  un- 
charitableness,  but  that  which  is  freely  given  should 
;iot  be  taken  in  licentiousness.  From  off  the  hill 
where  my  flock  is  wont  to  graze,  it  is  easy,  through 
many  an  opening  of  the  forest,  to  see  these  roofs ; 
and  it  would  have  been  better  that  the  body  should 
languish,  than  that  a  grievous  sin  should  be  placed 
on  that  immortal  spirit  which  is  already  too  deeply 
laden,  unless  thou  art  far  more  happy  than  others 
of  the  fallen  race  of  Adam." 

"  Mark  Heathcote,"  said  the  accused,  and  ever 
with  an  unwavering  tone,  "  look  further  at  those 
weapons,  which,  if  a  guilty  man,  I  have  weakly 
placed  within  thy  power.  Thou  wilt  find  more 
there  to  wonder  at,  than  a  few  straggling  hairs, 
that  the  spinner  would  cast  from  her  as  too  coarse 
for  service." 

"  It  is  long  since  I  found  pleasure  in  handling  the 
weapons  of  strife ;  may  it  be  longer  to  the  time 
when  they  shall  be  needed  in  this  abode  of  peace. 
These  are  instruments  of  death,  resembling  those 
used  in  my  youth,  by  cavaliers  that  rode  in  the  levies 
of  the  first  Charles,  and  of  his  pusillanimous  father. 
There  were  worldly  pride  and  great  vanity,  with 
much  and  damning  ungodliness,  in  the  wars  that  I 
have  seen,  my  children;  and  yet  the  carnal  man  found 
pleasure  in  the  stirrings  of  those  graceless  days !  Come 
hither,  younker ;  thou  hast  often  sought  to  know  the 
manner  in  which  the  horsemen  are  wont  to  lead  into 
the  combat,  when  the  broad-mouthed  artillery  and 
pattering  leaden  hail  have  cleared  a  passage  for  the 
struggle  of  horse  to  horse,  and  man  to  man.  Much 
of  the  justification  of  these  combats  must  depend  on 
the  inward  spirit,  and  on  the  temper  of  him  that 
striketh  at  the  life  of  fellow-sinner ;  but  righteous 
Joshua,  it  is  known,  contended  with  the  heathen 
throughout  a  supernatural  day ;  and  therefore,  al- 


46  THE  WEPT 

ways  humbly  confiding  that  our  cause  is  just,  I  will 
open  to  thy  young  mind  the  uses  of  a  weapon  that 
hath  never  before  been  seen  in  these  forests." 

"  I  have  hefted  many  a  heavier  piece  than  this," 
said  young  Mark,  frowning  equally  with  the  exer 
tion  and  with  the  instigations  of  his  aspiring  spirit, 
as  he  held  out  the  ponderous  weapon  in  a  single 
hand ;  "  we  have  guns  that  might  tame  a  wolf  with 
greater  certainty  than  any  barrel  of  a  bore  less 
than  my  own  height.  Tell,  me  grand'ther ;  at  what 
distance  do  the  mounted  warriors,  you  so  often  name, 
take  their  sight  ?" 

But  the  power  of  speech  appeared  suddenly  to 
have  deserted  the  aged  veteran.  He  had  interrupt 
ed  his  own  discourse,  and  now,  instead  of  answering 
the  interrogatory  of  the  boy,  his  eye  wandered 
slowly  and  with  a  look  of  painful  doubt  from  the 
weapon,  that  he  still  held  before  him,  to  the  coun 
tenance  of  the  stranger.  The  latter  continued  erect, 
like  one  courting  a  strict  and  meaning  examination 
of  his  person.  This  dumb-show  could  not  fail  to  at 
tract  the  observation  of  Content.  Rising  from  his 
seat,  with  that  quiet  but  authoritative  manner 
which  is  still  seen  in  the  domestic  government  of 
the  people  of  the  region  where  he  dwelt,  he  beck 
oned  to  all  present  to  quit  the  apartment.  Ruth 
and  her  daughters,  the  hirelings,  the  ill-gifted  Whit- 
tal,  and  even  the  reluctant  Mark,  preceded  him  to 
the  door,  which  he  closed  with  respectful  care  ;  and 
then  the  whole  of  the  wondering  party  mingled 
with  those  of  the  outer  room,  leaving  the  one  they 
had  quitted  to  the  sole  possession  of  the  aged  chief 
of  the  settlement,  and  to  his  still  unknown  and  mys 
terious  guest. 

Many  anxious,  and  to  those  who  were  excluded, 
seemingly  interminable  minutes  passed,  and  the 
secret  interview  appeared  to  draw  no  nearer  its 
ck>se  That  deep  reverence,  which  the  years,  pa- 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  ^L7 

ternity,  and  character  of  the  grandfather  had  in 
spired,  prevented  all  from  approaching  the  quarter 
of  the  apartment  ^nearest  to  the  room  they  had 
left ;  but  a  silence,  still  as  the  grave,  did  all  that 
silence  could  do,  to  enlighten  their  minds  in  a  matter 
of  so  much  general  interest.  The  deep,  smothered 
sentences  of  the  speakers  were  often  heard,  each 
dwelling  with  steadiness  and  propriety  on  his  par 
ticular  theme,  but  no  sound  that  conveyed  meaning 
to  the  minds  of  those  without  passed  the  envious 
walls.  At  length,  the  voice  of  old  Mark  became 
more  than  usually  audible ;  and  then  Content  arose, 
with  a  gesture  to  those  around  him  to  imitate  his 
example.  The  young  men  threw  aside  the  subjects 
of  their  light  employments,  the  maidens  left  the 
wheels  which  had  not  been  turned  for  many  minutes, 
and  the  whole  party  disposed  themselves  in  the  de 
cent  and  simple  attitude  of  prayer.  For  the  third 
time  that  evening  was  the  voice  of  the  Puritan 
heard,  pouring  out  his  spirit  in  a  communion  with 
that  being  on  whom  it  was  his  practice  to  repose 
all  his  worldly  cares.  But,  though  long  accustomed 
to  all  the  peculiar  forms  of  utterance  by  which 
their  father  ordinarily  expressed  his  pious  emotions, 
neither  Content  nor  his  attentive  partner  was  en 
abled  to  decide  on  the  nature  of  the  feeling  that 
was  now  uppermost.  At  times,  it  appeared  to  be 
the  language  of  thanksgiving,  and  at  others  it  as 
sumed  more  of  the  imploring  sounds  of  deprecation 
and  petition;  in  short,  it  was  so  varied, and,  though 
tranquil,  so  equivocal,  if  such  a  term  may  be  applied 
to  so  serious  a  subject,  as  completely  to  baffle  every 
conjecture. 

Long  and  weary  minutes  passed  after  the  voice 
had  entirely  ceased,  and  yet  no  summons  was  given 
to  the  expecting  family,  nor  did  any  sound  proceed 
from  the  inner  room,  which  the  respectful  son  was 
emboldened  to  construe  into  an  evidence  that  he 


4&  THE   WEPT 

might  presume  to  enter.  At  length,  apprehension 
began  to  mingle  with  conjectures,  and  then  the  hus 
band  and  wife  communed  apart>  in  whispers.  The 
misgivings  and  doubt  of  the  former  soon  mani 
fested  themselves  in  still  more  apparent  forms.  He 
arose,  and  was  seen  pacing  the  wide  apartment, 
gradually  approaching  nearer  to  the  partition  which 
separated  the  two  rooms,  evidently  prepared  to  re 
tire  beyond  the  limits  of  hearing,  the  moment  he 
should  detect  any  proofs  that  his  uneasiness  was 
without  a  sufficient  cause.  Still  no  sound  proceed 
ed  from  the  inner  room.  The  breathless,  silence 
which  had  so  shortly  before  reigned  where  he  was, 
appeared  to  be  suddenly  transferred  to  the  spot  in 
which  he  was  vainly  endeavoring  to  detect  the 
smallest  proof  of  human  existence.  Again  he  re 
turned  to  Ruth,  and  again  they  consulted,  in  low 
voices,  as  to  the  step  that  filial  duty  seemed  to  re 
quire  at  their  hands. 

"  We  were  not  bidden  to  withdraw,"  said  his  gen 
tle  companion ;  "  why  not  rejoin  our  parent,  now 
that  time  has  been  given  to  understand  the  subject 
which  so  evidently  disturbed  his  mind  ?" 

Content,  at  length,  yielded  to  this  opinion.  With 
that  cautious  discretion  which  distinguishes  his  peo 
ple,  he  motioned  to  the  family  to  follow,  in  order 
that  no  unnecessary  exclusion  should  give  rise  to 
conjectures,  or  excite  suspicions,  for  which,  after  all, 
the  circumstances  might  prove  no  justification.  Not 
withstanding  the  subdued  manners  of  the  age  and 
country,  curiosity,  and  perhaps  a  better  feeling,  had 
become  so  intense,  as  to  cause  all  present  to  obey 
this  silent  mandate,  by  moving  as  swiftly  towards 
the  open  door  as  a  never-yielding  decency  of  de 
meanor  would  permit. 

Old  Mark  Heathcote  occupied  the  chair  in  which 
he  had  been  left,  with  that  calm  and  unbending 
gravity  of  eye  and  features  which  were  then 


iiF    WISH-TON-WISH.  49 

thouglit  indispensable  to  a  fitting  sobriety  of  spirit. 
But  the  stranger  had  disappeared.  There  were  two 
or  three  outlets  by  which  the  room,  and  even  the 
house,  might  be  quitted,  without  the  knowledge  of 
those  who  had  so  long  waited  for  admission ;  and 
the  first  impression  led  the  family  to  expect  the  re 
appearance  of  the  absent  man  through  one  of  these 
exterior  passages.  Content,  however,  read  in  the 
expression  of  his  father's  eye,  that  the  moment  of 
confidence,  if  it  were  ever  to  arrive,  had  not  yet 
come ;  and,  so  admirable  and  perfect  was  the  do 
mestic  discipline  of  this  family,  that  the  questions 
which  the  son  did  not  see  fit  to  propound,  no  one  of 
inferior  condition,  or  lesser  age,  might  presume  to 
agitate.  With  the  person  of  the  stranger,  every 
evidence  of  his  recent  visit  had  also  vanished. 

Mark  missed  the  weapon  that  had  excited  his  ad 
miration  ;  Whittal  looked  in  vain  for  the  hunting- 
knife,  which  had  betrayed  the  fate  of  the  wether ; 
Mrs.  Heathcote  saw,  by  a  hasty  glance  uf  the  eye, 
that  the  leathern  sacks,  which  she  had  borne  in  mind 
ought  to  be  transferred  to  the  sleeping  apartment  of 
their  guest,  were  gone ;  and  a  mild  and  playful  im 
age  of  herself,  who  bore  her  name  no  less  than  most 
of  those  features  which  had  rendered  her  own  youth 
more  than  usually  attractive,  sought,  without  suc 
cess,  a  massive  silver  spur,  of  curious  and  antique 
workmanship,  which  she  had  been  permitted  to 
handle  until  the  moment  when  the  family  had  been 
commanded  to  withdrawn 

The  night  had  now  worn  later  than  the  hour  at 
which  it  was  usual  for  people  of  habits  so  simple 
to  be  out  of  their  beds.  The  grandfather  lighted  a 
taper,  and,  after  bestowing  the  usual  blessing  on 
those  around  him,  with  an  air  as  calm  as  if  nothing 
had  occurred,  he  prepared  to  retire  into  his  own 
room.  And  yet,  matter  of  interest  seemed  to  linger 
on  his  mind.  Even  on  the  threshold  of  the  door,  he 
5 


50  THE    WEPT 

turned,  and,  for  an  instant,  all  expected  some  expla 
nation  of  a  circumstance  which  began  to  wear  no 
little  of  the  aspect  of  an  exciting  and  painful 
mystery.  But  their  hopes  were  raised  only  to  be 
disappointed. 

"  My  thoughts  have  not  kept  the  passage  of  the 
time,"  he  said.  "  In  what  hour  of  the  night  are  *  A 
my  son?" 

He  was  told  that  it  was  already  past  the  usi  al 
moment  of  sleep. 

"No  matter;  that  which  Providence  hath  be 
stowed  for  our  comfort  and  support,  should  not  be 
lightly  and  unthankfully  disregarded.  Take  thou 
the  beast  I  am  wont  to  ride,  thyself,  Content,  and 
follow  the  path  which  leadeth  to  the  mountain 
clearing ;  bring  away  that  which  shall  meet  thine 
eye,  near  the  first  turning  of  the  route  toward  the 
river  towns.  We  have  got  into  the  last  quarter  of 
the  year,  and  in  order  that  our  industry  may  not 
flag,  and  that  all  may  be  stirring  with  the  sun,  let 
the  remainder  of  the  household  seek  their  rest." 

Content  saw,  by  the  manner  of  his  father,  that  no 
departure  from  the  strict  letter  of  these  instructions 
was  admissible.  He  closed  the  door  after  his  re* 
tiring  form,  and  then,  by  a  quiet  gesture  of  authority, 
indicated  to  his  dependants  that  they  were  expected 
to  withdraw.  The  maidens  of  Ruth  led  the  children 
to  their  chambers,  and  in  a  few  more  minutes,  none 
remained  in  the  outer  apartment,  already  so  often 
named,  but  the  obedient  son,  with  his  anxious  and 
affectionate  consort. 

"  I  will  be  thy  companion,  husband,"  Ruth  half- 
whisperingly  commenced,  so  soon  as  the  little 
domestic  preparations  for  leaving  the  fires  and 
securing  the  doors  were  ended.  "I  like  not  that 
thou  shouldst  go  into  the  forest  alone,  at  so  late  an 
hour  of  the  night." 

"  One  will  be  with  me,  there,  who  never  deserteth 


OF  WISH- TON-WISH.  51 

those  who  rely  on  his  protection.  Besides,  my  Ruth, 
what  is  there  to  apprehend  in  a  wilderness  like  this  ? 
The  beasts  have  been  lately  hunted  from  the  hills, 
and,  excepting  those  who  dwell  under  our  own  roof, 
there  is  not  one  within  a  long  day's  ride." 

"We  know  not!  Where  is  the  stranger  that 
came  within  our  doors  as  the  sun  was  setting  ?" 

"  As  thou  sayest,  we  know  not.  My  father  is  not 
minded  to  open  his  lips  on  the  subject  of  this 
traveller,  and  surely  we  are  not  now  to  learn  the 
lessons  of  obedience  and  self-denial." 

"  It  would,  notwithstanding,  be  a  great  easing  to 
the  spirit  to  hear  at  least  the  name  of  him  who 
hath  eaten  of  our  bread,  and  joined  in  our  family 
worship,  though  he  were  immediately  to  pass  away 
for  ever  from  before  the  sight." 

"  That  may  he  have  done,  already !"  returned 
the  less  curious  and  more  self-restrained  husband. 
"  My  father  will  not  that  we  inquire." 

"  And  yet  there  can  be  little  sin  in  knowing  the 
condition  of  one  whose  fortunes  and  movements 
can  excite  neither  our  envy  nor  our  strife.  I  would 
that  we  had  tarried  for  a  closer  mingling  in  the 
prayers ;  it  was  not  seemly  to  desert  a  guest  who, 
it  would  appear,  had  need  of  an  especial  up-offering 
in  his  behalf." 

"  Our  spirits  joined  in  the  asking,  though  our 
ears  were  shut  to  the  matter  of  his  wants.  But  it 
will  be  needful  that  I  should  be  afoot  with  the 
young  men,  in  the  morning,  and  a  mile  of  measure 
ment  would  not  reach  to  the  tuining,  in  the  path 
to  the  river  towns.  Go  with  me  to  the  postern,  and 
look  to  the  fastenings ;  I  will  not  keep  thee  long  on 
thy  watch." 

Content  and  his  wife  now  quitted  the  dwelling, 
by  the  only  door  that  was  left  unbarred.  Lighted 
by  a  moon  that  was  full,  though  clouded,  they 
passed  a  gateway  between  two  of  the  outer  build- 


52  THE  WEPT 

ings,  and  descended  to  the  palisadoes.  The  bars 
and  bolts  of  the  little  postern  were  removed,  an'1 
in  a  few  minutes,  the  former,  mounted  on  the  back 
of  his  father's  own  horse,  was  galloping  briskly 
along  the  path  which  led  into  the  part  of  the  forest 
he  was  directed  to  seek. 

While  the  husband  was  thus  proceeding,  in 
obedience  to  orders  that  he  never  hesitated  to  obey, 
his  faithful  wife  withdrew  within  the  shelter  of  the 
wooden  defences.  More  in  compliance  with  a  pre 
caution  that  was  become  habitual,  than  from  any 
present  causes  of  suspicion,  she  drew  a  single  bolt 
and  remained  at  the  postern,  anxiously  awaiting 
the  result  of  a  movement  that  was  as  unaccountable 
as  it  was  extraordinary. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

"  r  the  name  of  something  holy,  sir,  why  stand  you 
In  this  strange  stare  ?" 

TEMPEST. 

As  a  girl,  Ruth  Harding  had  been  one  of  the 
mildest  and  gentlest  of  the  human  race.  Though 
new  impulses  had  been  given  to  her  naturally  kind 
affections  by  the  attachments  of  a  wife  and  mother, 
her  disposition  suffered  no  change  by  marriage. 
Obedient,  disinterested,  and  devoted  to  those  she 
loved,  as  her  parents  had  known  her,  so,  by  the 
experience  of  many  years,  had  she  proved  to 
Content.  In  the  midst  of  the  utmost  equanimity  of 
temper  and  of  deportment,  her  watchful  solicitude 
in  behalf  of  the  few  who  formed  the  limited  circle 
of  her  existence,  never  slumbered.  It  dwelt  un 
pretendingly  but  active  in  her  gentle  bosom,  like  a 
great  and  moving  principle  of  life.  Though  circ.um 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  53 

Stances  had  placed  her  on  a  remote  and  exposed 
frontier,  where  time  had  not  been  given  for  the 
several  customary  divisions  of  employments,  she 
was  unchanged  in  habits,  in  feelings,  and  in  charac 
ter.  The  affluence  of  her  husband  had  elevated 
her  above  the  necessity  of  burthensome  toil ;  and, 
while  she  had  encountered  the  dangers  of  the 
wilderness,  and  neglected  none  of  the  duties  of  her 
active  station,  she  had  escaped  most  of  those  in 
jurious  consequences  which  are  a  little  apt  to 
impair  the  peculiar  loveliness  of  woman.  Not 
withstanding  the  exposure  of  a  border  life,  she  re 
mained  feminine,  attractive,  and  singularly  youth 
ful. 

The  reader  will  readily  imagine  the  state  of 
mind,  with  which  such  a  being  watched  the  distant 
form  of  a  husband,  engaged  in  a  duty  like  that  we 
have  described.  Notwithstanding  the  influence  of 
long  habit,  the  forest  was  rarely  approached,  after 
night-fall,  by  the  boldest  woodsman,  without  some 
secret  consciousness  that  he  encountered  a  positive 
danger.  It  was  the  hour  when  its  roaming  and 
hungry  tenants  were  known  to  be  most  in  motion ; 
and  the  rustling  of  a  leaf,  or  the  snapping  of  a  dried 
twig  beneath  the  light  tread  of  the  smallest  animal, 
was  apt  to  conjure  images  of  the  voracious  and 
fire-eyed  panther,  or  perhaps  of  a  lurking  biped, 
which,  though  more  artful,  was  known  to  be  scarcely 
less  savage.  It  is  true,  that  hundreds  experienced 
+he  uneasiness  of  such  sensations,  who  were  never 
lated  to  undergo  the  realities  of  the  fearful  pictures. 
Still,  facts  were  not  wanting  to  supply  sufficient 
motive  for  a  grave  and  reasonable  apprehension. 

Histories  of  combats  with  beasts  of  prey,  and  of 
massacres  by  roving  and  lawless  Indians,  were  the 
moving  legends  of  the  border.  Thrones  might  be 
subverted,  and  kingdoms  lost  and  won,  in  distant 
Europe,  and  less  should  be  said  of  the  events,  by 
5* 


54  THE    WEPT 

those  who  dwelt  in  these  woods,  than  of  one  scene 
of  peculiar  and  striking  forest  incident,  that  called 
for  the  exercise  of  the  stout  courage  and  the  keen 
intelligence  of  a  settler.  Such  a  tale  passed  from 
mouth  to  mouth,  with  the  eagerness  of  powerful 
personal  interest,  and  many  were  already  trans 
mitted  from  parent  to  child,  in  the  form  of  tradi 
tion,  until,  as  in  more  artificial  communities,  graver 
improbabilities  creep  into  the  doubtful  pages  of 
history,  exaggeration  became  too  closely  blended 
with  truth,  ever  again  to  be  separated. 

Under  the  influence  of  these  feelings,  and  per 
haps  prompted  by  his  never-failing  discretion,  Con 
tent  had  thrown  a  well-tried  piece  over  his  shoul 
der;  and  when  he  rose  the  ascent  on  which  his 
father  had  met  the  stranger,  Ruth  caught  a  glimpse 
of  his  form,  bending  on  the  neck  of  his  horse,  and 
gliding  through  the  misty  light  of  the  hour,  re 
sembling  one  of  those  fancied  images  of  wayward 
and  hard-riding  sprites,  of  which  the  tales  of  the 
eastern  continent  are  so  fond  of  speaking. 

Then  followed  anxious  moments,  during  which 
neither  sight  nor  hearing  could  in  the  least  aid  the 
conjectures  of  the  attentive  wife.  She  listened 
without  breathing,  and  once  or  twice  she  thought 
the  blows  of  hoofs,  falling  on  the  earth  harder  and 
quicker  than  common,  might  be  distinguished ;  but 
it  was  only  as  Content  mounted  the  sudden  ascent 
of  the  hill-side,  that  he  was  again  seen,  for  a  brief 
instant,  while  dashing  swiftly  into  the  cover  of  the 
woods. 

Though  Ruth  had  been  familiar  with  the  cares 
of  the  frontier,  perhaps  she  had  never  known  a 
moment  more  intensely  painful  than  that,  when  the 
form  of  her  husband  became  blended  with  the  dark 
trunks  of  the  trees.  The  time  was  to  her  impa 
tience  longer  than  usual,  and  under  the  excitement 
of  a  feverish  inquietude,  that  had  no  definite  ob 


OF    WISH-TON-WrSH.  55 

ject,  she  removed  the  single  bolt  that  held  the  pos 
tern  closed,  and  passed  entirely  without  the  stockade 
To  her  oppressed  senses,  the  palisadoes  appeared 
to  place  limits  to  her  vision.  Still,  weary  minute 
passed  after  minute,  without  bringing  relief.  During 
these  anxious  moments,  she  became  more  than  usu 
ally  conscious  of  the  insulated  situation  in  which 
he  and  all  who  were  dearest  to  her  heart  were 
placed.  The  feelings  of  a  wife  prevailed.  Quitting 
the  side  of  the  acclivity,  she  began  to  walk  slowly 
along  the  path  her  husband  had  taken,  until  appre 
hension  insensibly  urged  her  into  a  quicker  move 
ment.  She  had  paused  only  when  she  stood  nearly 
in  the  centre  of  the  clearing,  on  the  eminence 
where  her  father  had  halted  that  evening  to  con 
template  the  growing  improvement  of  his  estate. 

Here  her  steps  were  suddenly  arrested,  for  she 
thought  a  form  was  issuing  from  the  forest,  at  that 
interesting  spot  which  her  eyes  had  never  ceased 
to  watch.  It  proved  to  be  no  more  than  the  passing 
shadow  of  a  cloud  denser  than  common,  which 
threw  the  body  of  its  darkness  on  the  trees,  and  a 
portion  of  its  outline  on  the  ground  near  the  margin 
of  the  wood.  Just  at  this  instant,  the  recollection 
that  she  had  incautiously  left  the  postern  open 
flashed  upon  her  mind,  and,  with  feelings  divided 
between  husband  and  children,  she  commenced  her 
return,  in  order  to  repair  a  neglect,  to  which  habit, 
no  less  than  prudence,  imparted  a  high  degree  of 
culpability.  The  eyes  of  the  mother,  for  the  feel 
ings  of  that  sacred  character  were  now  powerfully 
uppermost,  were  fastened  on  the  ground,  as  she 
eagerly  picked  her  way  along  the  uneven  surface ; 
and,  so  engrossed  was  her  mind  by  the  omission  of 
duty  with  which  she  was  severely  reproaching  her 
self,  that  they  drank  in  objects  without  conveying 
distinct  or  intelligible  images  to  her  brain. 

Notwithstanding  the  one  engrossing  thought  of 


56  THE    WEPT 

the  moment,  something  met  her  eye  that  caused 
even  the  vacant  organ  to  recoil,  and  every  fibre  in 
her  frame  to  tremble  with  terror.  There  was  a 
moment  in  which  delirium  nearly  heightened  terror 
to  madness.  Reflection  came  only  when  Ruth  had 
reached  the  distance  of  many  feet  from  the  spot 
where  this  startling  object  had  half-unconsciously 
crossed  her  vision.  Then  for  a  single  and  a  fearful 
instant  she  paused,  like  one  who  debated  on  the 
course  she  ought  to  follow.  Maternal  love  prevailed, 
and  the  deer  of  her  own  woods  scarcely  bounds 
with  greater  agility,  than  the  mother  of  the  sleep 
ing  and  defenceless  family  now  fled  towards  the 
dwellings.  Panting  and  breathless  she  gained  the 
postern,  which  was  closed,  with  hands  that  perform 
ed  their  office  more  by  instinct  than  in  obedience 
to  thought,  and  doubly  and  trebly  barred. 

For  the  first  time  in  some  minutes,  Ruth  now 
breathed  distinctly  and  without  pain.  She  strove 
to  rally  her  thoughts,  in  order  to  deliberate  on  the 
course  that  prudence  and  her  duty  to  Content,  who 
was  still  exposed  to  the  danger  she  had  herself  es 
caped,  prescribed.  Her  first  impulse  was  to  give 
the  established  signal  that  was  to  recall  the  labor 
ers  from  the  field,  or  to  awake  the  sleepers,  in  the 
event  of  an  alarm ;  but  better  reflection  told  her 
that  such  a  step  might  prove  fatal  to  him  who  bal 
anced  in  her  affections  against  the  rest  of  the  world 
The  struggle  in  her  mind  only  ended,  as  she  clearly 
and  unequivocally  caught  a  view  of  her  husband, 
issuing  from  the  forest,  at  the  very  point  where  he 
had  entered.  The  return  path  unfortunately  led 
directly  past  the  spot  where  such  sudden  terror  had 
seized  her  mind.  She  would  have  given  worlds  to 
have  known  how  to  apprize  him  of  a  danger  with 
which  her  own  imagination  was  full,  without  com* 
municating  the  warning  to  other  and  terrible  ears. 
The  night  was  still,  and  though  the  distance  was 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  57 

considerable,  it  was  not  so  great  as  to  render  the 
chances  of  success  desperate.  Scarcely  knowing 
what  she  did,  and  yet  preserving,  by  a  sort  of  in 
stinctive  prudence,*the  caution  which  constant  ex 
posure  weaves  into  all  our  habits,  the  trembling 
woman  made  the  effort. 

"Husband!  husband!"  she  cried,  commencing 
plaintively,  but  her  voice  rising  with  the  energy  of 
excitement.  "  Husband,  ride  swiftly;  our  little  Ruth 
lyeth  in  the  agony.  For  her  life  and  thine,  ride  at 
thy  horse's  speed.  Seek  not  the  stables,  but  come 
with  all  haste  to  the  postern;  it  shall  be  open  to 
thee." 

This  was  certainly  a  fearful  summons  for  a  fa 
ther's  ear,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that,  had  the 
feeble  powers  of  Ruth  succeeded  in  conveying  the 
words  as  far  as  she  had  wished,  they  would  have 
produced  the  desired  effect.  But  in  vain  did  she 
call ;  her  weak  tones,  though  raised  on  the  notes  of 
the  keenest  apprehension,  could  not  force  their  way 
across  so  wide  a  space.  And  yet,  had  she  reason  to 
think  they  were  not  entirely  lost,  for  once  her  hus 
band  paused  and  seemed  to  listen,  and  once  he 
quickened  the  pace  of  his  horse ;  though  neither  of 
these  proofs  of  intelligence  was  followed  by  any 
further  signs  of  his  having  understood  the  alarm.  " 

Content  was  now  upon  the  hillock  itself.  If  Ruth 
breathed  at  all  during  its  passage,  it  was  more  im 
perceptibly  than  the  gentlest  respiration  of  the 
sleeping  infant.  But  when  she  saw  him  trotting 
with  unconscious  security  along  the  path  on  the 
side  next  the  dwellings,  her  impatience  broke 
through  all  restraint,  and  throwing  open  the  pos 
tern,  she  renewed  her  cries,  in  a  voice  that  was  no 
longer  useless.  The  clattering  of  the  unshodden 
hoof  was  again  rapid,  and  in  another  minute  her 
husband  galloped  unharmed  to  her  side. 

"Enter!"  said  the  nearly  dizzy  wife,  seizing  the 


58  THE    WEPT 

bridle  and  leading  the  horse  within  the  palisadoes. 
"  Enter,  husband,  for  the  love  of  all  that  is  thine ", 
enter,  and  be  thankful." 

"What  meaneth  this  terror,  Ruth?"  demanded 
Content,  in  as  much  displeasure,  perhaps,  as  he 
could  manifest  to  one  so  gentle,  for  a  weakness  be 
trayed  in  his  own  behalf;  "  is  thy  confidence  in  him 
whose  eye  never  closeth,  and  who  equally  watch- 
eth  the  life  of  man  and  that  of  the  falling  sparrow, 
lost  ?" 

Ruth  was  deaf.  With  hurried  hands  she  drew 
the  fastenings,  let  fall  the  bars,  and  turned  a  key 
which  forced  a  triple-bolted  lock  to  perform  its 
office.  Not  till  then  did  she  feel  either  safe  herself, 
or  at  liberty  to  render  thanks  for  the  safety  of  him, 
over  whose  danger  she  had  so  lately  watched,  in 
agony. 

"  Why  this  care  ?  Hast  forgotten  that  the  horse 
will  suffer  hunger,  at  this  distance  from  the  rack 
and  manger  ?" 

"Better  that  he  starve,  than  hair  of  thine  should 
come  to  harm." 

"Nay,  nay,  Ruth;  dost  not  remember  that  the 
beast  is  the  favorite  of  my  father,  who  will  ill  brook 
his  passing  a  night  within  the  palisadoes  ?" 

"Husband,  you  err;  there  is  one  in  the  fields  !" 

"  Is  there  place,  where  one  is  not  ?" 

"  But  I  have  seen  creature  of  mortal  birth,  and 
creature  too  that  hath  no  claim  on  thee,  or  thine, 
and  who  trespasseth  on  our  peace,  no  less  than  on 
our  natural  rights,  to  be  where  he  lurketh." 

"  Go  to ;  thou  art  not  used  to  be  so  late  from  thy 
pillow,  my  poor  Ruth ;  sleep  hath  come  over  thee, 
whilst  standing  on  thy  watch.  Some  cloud  hath  left 
its  shadow  on  the  fields,  or,  truly,  it  may  be  that 
the  hunt  did  not  drive  the  beasts  as  far  from  the 
clearing  as  we  had  thought.  Come ;  since  thou  wilt 


OF    WISH-TOiY-WISH.  59 

cling  to  my  side,  lay  hand  on  the  bridle  of  the  horse, 
while  I  ease  him  of  his  burthen." 

As  Content  coolly  proceeded  to  the  task  he  had 
mentioned,  the  thoughts  of  his  wife  were  moment 
arily  diverted  from  their  other  sources  of  uneasiness, 
by  the  object  which  lay  on  the  crupper  of  the  nag 
and  which,  until  now,  had  entirely  escaped  her 
observation. 

"  Here  is,  indeed,  the  animal  this  day  missing  from 
our  flock  !"  she  exclaimed,  as  the  carcass  of  a  sheep 
fell  heavily  on  the  ground. 

"Ay;  and  killed  with  exceeding  judgment,  if  not 
aptly  dressed  to  our  hands.  Mutton  will  not  be 
wanting  for  the  husking-feast,  and  the  stalled  crea 
ture  whose  days  were  counted  may  live  another 
season." 

"And  where  didst  find  the  slaughtered  beast?" 

"On  the  limb  of  a  growing  hickory.  Eben  Dudley, 
with  all  his  sleight  in  butchering,  and  in  setting  forth 
the  excellence  of  his  meats,  could  not  have  left  an 
animal  hanging  from  the  branch  of  a  sapling,  with 
greater  knowledge  of  his  craft.  Thou  seest,  but  a 
single  meal  is  missing  from  the  carcass,  and  that 
thy  fleece  is  unharmed." 

"  This  is  not  the  work  of  a  Pequod  !"  exclaimed 
Ruth,  surprised  at  her  own  discovery ;  "  the  red 
men  do  their  mischief  with  less  care." 

"  Nor  has  the  tooth  of  wolf  opened  the  veins  of 
poor  Straight-Horns.  Here  has  been  judgment  in 
the  slaughtering,  as  well  as  prudence  in  consump 
tion  of  the  food.  The  hand  that  cut  so  lightly,  had 
intention  of  a  second  visit." 

"  And  our  father  bid  thee  seek  the  creature 
where  it  was  found !  Husband,  I  fear  some  heavy 
judgment  for  the  sins  of  the  parents,  is  likely  to 
befall  the  children." 

"  The  babes  are  quietly  in  their  slumbers,  and, 
thus  far,  little  wrong  hath  been  done  us.  I'll  cast 


60  THE    WEPT 

the  halter  from  the  stalled  animal  ere  I  sleep,  and 
Straight-Horns  shall  content  us  for  the  husking. 
We  may  have  mutton  less  savory,  for  this  evil 
chance,  but  the  number  of  thy  flock  will  be  un 
altered." 

"  And  where  is  he,  who  hath  mingled  in  our 
prayers,  and  hath  eaten  of  6ur  bread;  he  who 
counselled  so  long  in  secret  with  our  father,  and 
who  hath  now  vanished  from  among  us,  like  a 
vision  ?" 

"  That  indeed  is  a  question  not  readily  to  be 
answered,"  returned  Content,  who  had  hitherto 
maintained  a  cheerful  air,  in  order  to  appease  what 
he  was  fain  to  believe  a  causeless  terror  in  the 
bosom  of  his  partner,  but  who  was  induced  by  this 
question  to  drop  his  head  like  one  that  sought  reasons 
within  the  repository  of  his  own  thoughts.  "It 
mattereth  not,  Ruth  Heathcote;  the  ordering  of 
the  affair  is  in  the  hands  of  a  man  of  many  years 
and  great  experience ;  should  his  aged  wisdom  fail, 
do  we  not  know  that  one  even  wiser  than  he,  hath 
us  in  his  keeping?  I  will  return  the  beast  to  his 
rack,  and  when  we  shall  have  jointly  asked  favor 
of  eyes  that  never  sleep,  we  will  go  in  confidence 
to  our  rest." 

"  Husband,  thou  quittest  not  the  palisadoes  again 
this  night,"  said  Ruth,  arresting  the  hand  that  had 
already  drawn  a  bolt,  ere  she  spoke.  "  I  have  a 
warning  of  evil." 

"  I  would  the  stranger  had  found  some  other 
shelter  in  which  to  pass  his  short  resting  season  I 
That  he  hath  made  free  with  my  flock,  and  that 
he  hath  administered  to  his  hunger  at  some  cost, 
when  a  single  asking  would  have  made  him  welcome 
to  the  best  that  the  owner  of  the  Wish-Tori-Wish 
can  command,  are  truths  that  may  not  be  denied. 
Still  is  he  mortal  man,  as  a  goodly  appetite  hath 
proven,  even  should  our  belief  in  Providence  so  far 


OF    WISH-TON- WISH.  61 

waver  as  to  harbor  doubts  of  its  unwillingness  to 
suffer  beings  of  injustice  to  wander  in  our  forms 
and  substance.  I  tell  thee,  Ruth,  that  the  nag  will 
be  needed  for  to-morrow's  service,  and  that  our 
father  will  give  but  ill  thanks  should  we  leave  it  to 
make  a  bed  on  this  cold  hill-side.  Go  to  thy  rest 
and  to  thy  prayers,  trembler;  I  will  close  the 
postern  with  all  care.  Fear  not ;  the  stranger  is  of 
human  wants,  and  his  agency  to  do  evil  must  needs 
be  limited  by  human  power." 

"  I  fear  none  of  white  blood,  nor  of  Christian 
parentage  :  the  murderous  heathen  is  in  our  fields." 

"  Thou  dreamest,  Ruth  !" 

"  'Tis  not  a  dream.  I  have  seen  the  glowing  eye 
balls  of  a  savage.  Sleep  was  little  like  to  come 
over  me,  when  set  upon  a  watch  like  this.  I  thought 
me  that  the  errand  was  of  unknown  character, 
and  that  our  father  was  exceedingly  aged,  and  that 
perchance  his  senses  might  be  duped,  and  how  an 
obedient  son  ought  not  to  be  exposed. — Thou  know- 
est,  Heathcote,  that  I  could  not  look  upon  the  danger 
of  my  children's  father  with  indifference,  and  I 
followed  to  the  nut-tree  hillock." 

"  To  the  nut-tree !  It  was  not  prudent  in  thee — 
but  the  postern  ?" 

"  It  was  open ;  for  were  the  key  turned,  who 
was  there  to  admit  us  quickly,  had  haste  been 
needed?"  returned  Ruth,  momentarily  averting 
her  face  to  conceal  the  flush  excited  by  conscious 
delinquency.  "Though  I  failed  in  caution,  'twas 
for  thy  safety,  Heathcote.  But  on  that  hillock,  and 
in  the  hollow  left  by  a  fallen  tree,  lies  concealed  a 
heathen !" 

"  I  passed  the  nut-wood  in  going  to  the  shambles 
of  our  strange  butcher,  and  I  drew  the  rein  to 
give  breath  to  the  nag  near  it,  as  we  returned  with 
the  burthen.  It  cannot  be ;  some  creature  of  the 
forest  hath  alarmed  thee." 
6 


62  THE    WEPT 

"  Ay !  creature,  formed,  fashioned  gifted  like 
ourselves,  in  all  but  color  of  the  skin  and  blessing 
of  the  faith." 

"  This  is  strange  delusion  !  If  there  were  enemy 
at  hand,  would  men  subtle  as  those  you  fear,  suffer 
the  master  of  the  dwelling,  and  truly  I  may  say  it 
without  vain-glory,  one  as  likely  as  another  to 
struggle  stoutly  for  his  own,  to  escape,  when  an 
ill-timed  visit  to  the  woods  had  delivered  him  un 
resisting  into  their  hands?  Go,  go,  good  Ruth;  thou 
mayst  have  seen  a  blackened  log — perchance  the 
frosts  have  left  a  fire-fly  untouched,  or  it  may  be 
that  some  prowling  bear  has  scented  out  the  sweets 
of  thy  lately-gathered  hives." 

Ruth  again  laid  her  hand  firmly  on  the  arm  ot 
her  husband,  who  had  withdrawn  another  bolt, 
and,  looking  him  steadily  in  the  face,  she  answered 
by  saying  solemnly,  and  with  touching  pathos — 

"Think'st  thou,  husband,  that  a  mother's  eye 
could  be  deceived?" 

It  might  have  been  that  the  allusion  to  the  tender 
beings  whose  fate  depended  on  his  care,  or  that  the 
deeply  serious,  though  mild  and  gentle  manner  of 
his  consort,  produced  some  fresher  impression  on 
the  mind  of  Content.  Instead  of  undoing  the  fast 
enings  of  the  postern  as  he  had  intended,  he  de 
liberately  drew  its  bolts  again  and  paused  to  think. 

"If  it  produce  no  other  benefit  than  to  quiet 
thy  fears,  good  Ruth,"  he  said,  after  a  moment  of 
reflection,  "a  little  caution  will  be  well  repaid. 
Stay  you,  then,  here,  where  the  hillock  may  be 
watched,  while  I  go  wake  a  couple  of  the  people. 
With  stout  Eben  Dudley  and  experienced  Reuben 
Ring  to  back  me,  my  father's  horse  may  surely  be 
Stabled." 

Ruth  contentedly  assumed  a  task  that  she  was 
quite  equal  to  perform  with  intelligence  and  zeal. 
"  Hie  thee  to  the  laborers'  chambers,  for  I  see  a 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  63 

light  still  burning  in  the  room  of  those  you  seek," 
was  the  answer  she  gave  to  a  proposal  that  at  least 
quieted  the  intenseness  of  her  fears  for  him  in 
whose  behalf  they  had  so  lately  been  excited  nearly 
to  agony. 

"It  shall  be  quickly  done;  nay,  stand  not  thus 
openly  between  tfye  beams,  wife.  Thou  mayst 
place  thyself,  here,  at  the  doublings  of  the  wood, 
beneath  the  loop,  where  harm  would  scarcely  reach 
thee,  though  shot  from  artillery  were  to  crush  the 
timber." 

With  this  admonition  to  be  wary  of  a  danger  that 
he  had  so  recently  affected  to  despise,  Content  de 
parted  on  his  errand.  The  two  laborers  he  had  men 
tioned  by  name,  were  youths  of  mould  and  strength, 
and  they  were  well  inured  to  toil,  no  less  than  to  the 
particular  privations  and  dangers  of  a  border  life. 
Like  most  men  of  their  years  and  condition,  they 
were  practised  too  in  the  wiles  of  Indian  cunning ; 
and  though  the  Province  of  Connecticut,  compared 
to  other  settlements,  had  suffered  but  little  in  this 
species  of  murderous  warfare,  they  both  had  mar 
tial  feats  and  perilous  experiences  of  their  own  to 
recount,  during  the  light  labors  of  the  long  winter 
evenings. 

Content  crossed  the  court  with  a  quick  step ;  for, 
notwithstanding  his  steady  unbelief,  the  image  of 
his  gentle  wife  posted  on  her  outer  watch  hurried 
his  movements.  The  rap  he  gave  at  the  door,  on 
reaching  the  apartment  of  those  he  sought,  was  loud 
as  it  was  sudden. 

"  Who  calls  ?"  demanded  a  deep-toned  and  firm 
vcice  from  within,  at  the  first  blow  of  the  knuckles 
on  the  plank. 

"  Quit  thy  beds  quickly,  and  come  forth  with  the 
arms  appointed  for  a  sally." 

"  That  is  soon  done,"  answered  a  stout  woodsman, 
throwing  open  the  door  and  standing  before  Content 


04  THE    WEPT 

in  the  garments  he  had  worn  throughout  the  day. 
"We  were  just  dreaming  that  the  night  was  not  to 
pass  without  a  summons  to  the  loops." 

"  Hast  seen  aught  ?" 

"Our  eyes  were  not  shut,  more  than  those  of 
others ;  we  saw  him  enter  that  no  man  hath  seen 
depart." 

"  Come,  fellow ;  Whittal  Ring  would  scarce  give 
wiser  speech  than  this  cunning  reply  of  thine.  My 
wife  is  at  the  postern,  and  it  is  fit  we  go  to  relieve 
her  watch.  Thou  wilt  not  forget  the  horns  of  pow 
der,  since  it  would  not  tell  to  our  credit,  were  there 
service  for  the  pieces,  and  we  lacking  in  where 
withal  to  give  them  a  second  discharge." 

The  hirelings  obeyed,  and,  as  little  time  was 
necessary  to  arm  those  who  never  slept  without 
weapons  and  ammunition  within  reach  of  their 
hands,  Content  was  speedily  followed  by  his  depend 
ants.  Ruth  was  found  at  her  post,  but  when  urged 
by  her  husband  to  declare  what  had  passed  in  his 
absence,  she  was  compelled  to  admit  that,  though 
the  moon  had  come  forth  brighter  and  clearer  from 
behind  the  clouds,  she  had  seen  nothing  to  add  to 
her  alarm. 

"  We  will  then  lead  the  beast  to  his  stall,  and  close 
our  duty  by  setting  a  single  watcher  for  the  rest  of 
the  night,"  said  the  husband.  "  Reuben  shall  keep 
the  postern,  while  Eben  and  I  will  have  a  care  for 
my  father's  nag,  not  forgetting  the  carcass  for  the 
husking-feast.  Dost  hear,  deaf  Dudley  ? — cast  the 
mutton  upon  the  crupper  of  the  beast,  and  follow  to 
the  stables." 

"  Here  has  been  no  common  workman  at  my  of 
fice,"  said  the  blunt  Eben,  who,  though  an  ordinary 
farm-laborer,  according  to  an  usage  still  very  gene 
rally  prevalent  in  the  country,  was  also  skilful  in  the 
craft  of  the  butcher.  "I  have  brought  many  a 
wether  to  his  end,  but  this  is  the  first  sheep,  within 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  65 

all  my  experience,  that  hath  kept  the  fleece  while 
a  portion  of  the  body  has  been  in  the  pot !  Lie  there, 
poor  Straight-Horns,  if  quiet  thou  canst  he  after 
such  strange  butchery.  Reuben,  I  paid  thee,  as  the 
sun  rose,  a  Spanish  piece  in  silver,  for  the  trifle  of 
debt  that  lay  between  us,  in  behalf  of  the  good  turn 
thou  didst  the  shoes,  which  were  none  the  better  for 
the  last  hunt  in  the  hills.  Hast  ever  that  pistareen 
about  thee  ?" 

This  question,  which  was  put  in  a  lowered  tone, 
and  only  to  the  ear  of  the  party  concerned,  was  an 
swered  in  the  affirmative. 

"  Give  it  me,  lad ;  in  the  morning,  thou  shalt  be 
paid,  with  usurer's  interest." 

Another  summons  from  Content,  who  had  now  led 
the  nag  loaded  with  the  carcass  of  the  sheep  with 
out  the  postern,  cut  short  the  secret  conference. 
Eben  Dudley,  having  received  the  coin,  hastened  to 
follow.  But  the  distance  to  the  out-buildings  was 
sufficient  to  enable  him  to  effect  his  mysterious  pur 
pose  without  discovery.  Whilst  Content  endeavored 
to  calm  the  apprehensions  of  his  wife,  who  still  per 
sisted  in  sharing  his  danger,  by  such  reasons  as  he 
could  on  the  instant  command,  the  credulous  Dudley 
placed  the  thin  piece  of  silver  between  his  teeth, 
and,  with  a  pressure  that  denoted  the  prodigious 
force  of  his  jaws,  caused  it  to  assume  a  beaten  and 
rounded  shape.  He  then  slily  dropped  the  battered 
coin  into  the  muzzle  of  his  gun,  taking  care  to  se 
cure  its  presence,  until  he  himself  should  send  it  on 
its  disenchanting  message,  by  a  wad  torn  from  the 
lining  of  part  of  his  vestments.  Supported  by  this 
redoubtable  auxiliary,  the  superstitious  but  still 
courageous  borderer  followed  his  companion,  whist 
ling  a  low  air  that  equally  denoted  his  indifference 
to  danger  of  an  ordinary  nature,  and  his  sensibility 
to  impressions  of  a  less  earthly  character. 

They  who  dwell  in  the  older  districts  of  America. 
6* 


66  THE    WEPT 

where  art  and  labor  have  united  for  generations  to 
clear  the  earth  of  its  inequalities,  and  to  remove 
the  vestiges  of  a  state  of  nature,  can  form  but  little 
idea  of  the  thousand  objects  that  may  exist  in  a 
clearing,  to  startle  the  imagination  of  one  who  has 
admitted  alarm,  when  seen  in  the  doubtful  light  of 
even  a  cloudless  moon.  Still  less  can  they  who  have 
never  quitted  the  old  world,  and  who,  having  only 
seen,  can  only  imagine  fields  smooth  as  the  surface 
of  tranquil  water,  picture  the  effect  produced  by 
those  lingering  remnants,  which  may  be  likened  to 
so  many  mouldering  monuments  of  the  fallen  forest 
scattered  at  such  an  hour  over  a  broad  surface  of 
open  land.  Accustomed  as  they  were  to  the  sight, 
Content  and  his  partner,  excited  by  their  fears, 
fancied  each  dark  and  distant  stump  a  savage ;  and 
they  passed  no  angle  in  the  high  and  heavy  fences 
without  throwing  a  jealous  glance  to  see  that  some 
enemy  did  not  lie  stretched  within  its  shadows. 

Still  no  new  motive  for  apprehension  arose,  during 
the  brief  period  that  the  two  adventurers  were  em 
ployed  in  administering  to  the  comfort  of  the  Puri 
tan's  steed.  The  task  was  ended,  the  carcass  of  the 
slaughtered  Straight-Horns  had  been  secured,  and 
Ruth  was  already  urging  her  husband  to  return, 
when  their  attention  was  drawn  to  the  attitude  and 
mien  of  their  companion. 

"  The  man  hath  departed  as  he  came,"  said  Eben 
Dudley,  who  stood  shaking  his  head  in  open  doubt, 
before  an  empty  stall ;  "  here  is  no  beast,  though 
with  these  eyes  did  I  see  the  half-wit  bring  hither  a 
well-filled  measure  of  speckled  oats,  to  feed  the  nag. 
He  who  favored  us  with  his  presence  at  the  supper 
and  the  thanksgiving,  hath  tired  of  his  company  be 
fore  the  hour  of  rest  had  come." 

"The  horse  is  truly  wanting,"  said  Content:  "the 
man  must  needs  be  in  exceeding  haste,  to  have  rid 
den  into  the  forest  as  the  night  grew  deepest,  and 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  67 

when  the  longest  summer  day  would  scarce  bring 
a  better  hack  than  that  he  rode  to  another  Chris 
tian  dwelling.  There  is  reason  for  this  industry,  but 
it  is  enough  that  it  concerns  us  not.  We  will  now 
seek  our  rest,  in  the  certainty  that  one  watcheth 
our  slumbers  whose  vigilance  can  never  fail." 

Though  man  could  not  trust  himself  to  sleep  in 
that  country  without  the  security  of  bars  and  bolts, 
we  have  already  had  occasion  to  say  that  property 
was  guarded  with  but  little  care.  The  stable-door 
was  merely  closed  by  a  wooden  latch,  and  the  party 
returned  from  this  short  sortie,  with  steps  that  were 
a  little  quickened  by  a  sense  of  an  uneasiness  that 
beset  them  in  forms  suited  to  their  several  charac 
ters.  But  shelter  was  at  hand,  and  it  was  speedily 
regained. 

"Thou  hast  seen  nothing?"  said  Content  to  Reu 
ben  Ring,  who  had  been  chosen  for  his  quick  eye, 
and  a  sagacity  that  was  as  remarkable  as  was  his 
brother's  impotency;  "thouhast  seen  nothing  at  thy 
watch?' 

•'  Nought  unusual ;  and  yet  I  like  not  yonder  billet 
of  wood,  near  to  the  fence  against  the  knoll.  If  it 
were  not  so  plainly  a  half-burnt  log,  one  might  fancy 
there  is  life  in  it.  But  when  fancy  is  at  work,  the 
sight  is  keen.  Once  or  twice  I  have  thought  it  seem 
ed  to  be  rolling  towards  the  brook ;  I  am  not,  even 
now,  certain  that  when  first  seen  it  did  not  lie  eight 
or  ten  feet  higher  against  the  bank." 

"  It  may  be  a  living  thing !" 

"  On  the  faith  of  a  woodman's  eye,  it  well  may 
be,"  said  Eben  Dudley ;  "  but  should  it  be  haunted 
by  a  legion  of  wicked  spirits,  one  may  bring  it  to 
quiet  from  the  loop  at  the  nearest  corner.  Stand 
aside,  Madam  Heathcote,"  for  the  character  and 
wealth  of  the  proprietors  of  the  valley,  gave  Ruth 
a  claim  to  this  term  of  respect  among  the  laborers; 
"  let  me  thrust  the  piece  through  the — stop,  there 


68  THE    WEPT 

is  an  especial  charm  in  the  gun,  which  it  might  be 
sinful  to  waste  on  such  a  creature.  It  may  be  no 
more  than  some  sweet-toothed  bear.  I  will  answer 
for  the  charge  at  my  own  cost,  if  thou  wilt  lend  me 
thy  musket,  Reuben  Ring." 

"  It  shall  not  be,"  said  his  master ;  "  one  known 
to  my  father  hath  this  night  entered  our  dwelling 
and  fed  at  our  board ;  if  he  hath  departed  in  a  way 
but  little  wont  among  those  of  this  Colony,  yet  hath 
he  done  no  great  wrong.  I  will  go  nigh,  and  exam 
ine  with  less  risk  of  error." 

There  was,  in  this  proposal,  too  much  of  that 
spirit  of  right-doing  which  governed  all  of  those 
simple  regions,  to  meet  serious  opposition.  Content, 
supported  by  Eben  Dudley,  again  quitted  the  pos 
tern,  and  proceeded  directly,  though  still  not  with 
out  sufficient  caution,  towards  the  point  where  the 
suspicious  object  lay.  A  bend  in  the  fence  had  first 
brought  it  into  view,  for  previously  to  reaching  that 
point,  its  apparent  direction  might  for  some  distance 
have  been  taken  under  shelter  of  the  shadows  of 
the  rails,  which,  at  the  immediate  spot  where  it  was 
seen,  were  turned  suddenly  in  a  line  with  the  eyes 
of  the  spectators.  It  seemed  as  if  the  movements 
of  those  who  approached  were  watched;  for  the 
instant  they  left  the  defences,  the  dark  object  was 
assuredly  motionless ;  even  the  keen  eye  of  Reuben 
Ring  beginning  to  doubt  whether  some  deception 
of  vision  had  not  led  him,  after  all,  to  mistake  a 
billet  of  wood  for  a  creature  of  life. 

But  Content  and  his  companion  were  not  induced 
to  change  their  determination.  Even  when  within 
fifty  feet  of  the  object,  though  the  moon  fell  full 
and  brightly  upon  the  surface,  its  character  baffled 
conjecture.  One  affirmed  it  was  the  end  of  a  charred 
log,  many  of  which  still  lay  scattered  about  the 
fields, and  the  other  believed  it  some  cringing  animal 
of  the  woods.  Twice  Content  raised  his  piece  to 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  69 

fire,  and  as  often  did  he  let  it  fall,  in  reluctance  to 
do  injury  to  even  a  quadruped  of  whose  character 
he  was  ignorant.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  his 
less  considerate,  and  but  half-obedient*  companion 
would  have  decided  the  question  soon  after  leaving 
the  postern,  had  not  the  peculiar  contents  of  his 
musket  rendered  him  delicate  of  its  uses. 

"  Look  to  thy  weapons,"  said  the  former,  loosen 
ing  his  own  hunting-knife  in  its  sheath.  "  We  will 
draw  near,  and  make  certainty  of  what  is  doubtful." 

They  did  so,  and  the  gun  of  Dudley  was  thrust 
rudely  into  the  side  of  the  object  of  their  distrust, 
before  it  again  betrayed  life  or  motion.  Then,  in 
deed,  as  if  further  disguise  was  useless,  an  Indian 
lad,  of  some  fifteen  years,  rose  deliberately  to  his 
feet,  and  stood  before  them  in  the  sullen  dignity 
of  a  captured  warrior.  Content  hastily  seized  the 
stripling  by  an  arm,  and  followed  by  Eben,  who  oc 
casionally  quickened  the  footsteps  of  the  prisoner 
by  an  impetus  obtained  from  the  breech  of  his  own 
musket,  they  hurriedly  returned  within  the  defences. 

"  My  life  against  that  of  Straight-Horns,  which 
is  now  of  no  great  value,"  said  Dudley,  as  he  pushed 
the  last  bolt  of  the  fastenings  into  its  socket,  "  we 
hear  no  more  of  this  red  skin's  companions  to-night. 
I  never  knew  an  Indian  raise  his  whoop,  when  a 
scout  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy." 

"  This  may  be  true,"  returned  the  other,  "  and 
yet  must  a  sleeping  household  be  guarded.  We 
may  be  brought  to  rely  on  the  overlooking  favor  of 
Providence,  working  with  the  means  of  our  own 
manhood,  ere  the  sun  shall  arise." 

Content  was  a  man  of  few  words,  but  one  of  ex 
ceeding  steadiness  and  resolution  in  moments  of 
need.  He  was  perfectly  aware  that  an  Indian 
youth,  like  him  he  had  captured,  would  not  have 
been  found  in  that  place,  and  under  the  circum 
stances  in  which  he  was  actuallv  taken,  without  a 


70  THE    WEPT 

design  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  justify  the  hazard. 
The  tender  age  of  the  stripling,  too,  forbade  the 
belief  that  he  was  unaccompanied.  But  he  silently 
agreed  with  his  laboring  man  that  the  capture  would 
probably  cause  the  attack,  if  any  such  were  medi 
tated,  to  be  deferred.  He  therefore  instructed  his 
wife  to  withdraw  into  her  chamber,  while  he  took 
measures  to  defend  the  dwelling  in  the  last  emer 
gency.  Without  giving  any  unnecessary  alarm,  a 
measure  that  would  have  produced  less  effect  on 
an  enemy  without,  than  the  imposing  stillness  which 
now  reigned  within  the  defences,  he  ordered  two 
or  three  more  of  the  stoutest  of  his  dependants  to 
be  summoned  to  the  palisadoes.  A  keen  scrutiny 
was  made  into  the  state  of  all  the  different  outlets 
of  the  place;  muskets  were  carefully  examined? 
charges  were  given  to  be  watchful,  and  regular 
sentinels  were  stationed  within  the  shadows  of  the 
buildings,  at  points  where,  unseen  themselves,  they 
could  look  out  in  safety  upon  the  fields. 

Content  then  took  his  captive,  with  whom  he  had 
made  no  attempt  to  exchange  a  syllable,  and  led 
him  to  the  block-house.  The  door  which  commu 
nicated  with  the  basement  of  this  building  was  al 
ways  open,  in  readiness  for  refuge  in  the  event  of 
any  sudden  alarm.  He  entered,  caused  the  lad  to 
mount  by  a  ladder  to  the  floor  above,  and  then 
withdrawing  the  means  of  retreat,  he  turned  the 
key  without,  in  perfect  confidence  that  his  prisoner 
was  secure. 

Notwithstanding  all  this  care,  morning  had  nearly 
dawned  before  the  prudent  father  and  husband 
sought  his  pillow.  His  steadiness  however  had  pre 
vented  the  apprehensions,  which  kept  his  own  eyes 
and  those  of  his  gentle  partner  so  long  open,  from 
extending  beyond  the  few  whose  services  were,  in 
such  an  emergency,  deemed  indispensable  to  safety. 
Towards  the  last  watches  of  the  night,  only,  did 


OF  \VISH-TON-WISH.  71 

the  images  of  the  scenes  through  which  they  had 
just  passed,  become  dim  and  confused,  and  then 
both  husband  and  wife  slept  soundly,  and  happily 
without  disturbance. 


CHAPTER  V. 

"  Are  you  so  brave  ?    I'll  have  you  talked  with  anon." 

CORIOLANUS. 

THE  axe  and  the  brand  had  been  early  and  ef 
fectually  used,  immediately  around  the  dwelling  of 
the  Heathcotes.  A  double  object  had  been  gained 
by  removing  most  of  the  vestiges  of  the  forest  from 
the  vicinity  of  the  buildings:  the  necessary  im 
provements  were  executed  with  greater  facility, 
and,  a  consideration  of  no  small  importance,  the 
cover,  which  the  American  savage  is  known  to  seek 
in  his  attacks,  was  thrown  to  a  distance  that  greatly 
diminished  the  danger  of  a  surprise. 

Favored  by  the  advantage  which  had  been  ob 
tained  by  this  foresight,  and  by  the  brilliancy  of  a 
night  that  soon  emulated  the  brightness  of  day, 
the  duty  of  Eben  Dudley  and  of  his  associate  on  the 
watch  was  rendered  easy  of  accomplishment.  Indeed, 
so  secure  did  they  become  towards  morning,  chiefly 
on  account  of  the  capture  of  the  Indian  lad,  that 
more  than  once,  eyes,  that  should  have  been  differ 
ently  employed,  yielded  to  the  drowsiness  of  the 
hour  and  to  habit,  or  were  only  opened  at  intervals 
*hat  left  their  owners  in  some  doubt  as  to  the  passage 
of  the  intermediate  time.  But  no  sooner  did  the 
signs  of  day  approach,  than,  agreeably  to  their  in 
structions,  the  watchers  sought  their  beds,  and  for 
an  hour  or  two,  they  slept  soundly  and  without  fear 

When  his  father  had  closed  the  prayers  of  the 


72  THE  WEPT 

morning,  Content,  in  the  midst  of  the  assembled 
family,  communicated  as  many  of  the  incidents  of 
the  past  night  as  in  his  judgment  seemed  necessary. 
His  discretion  limited  the  narrative  to  the  capture 
of  the  native  youth,  and  to  the  manner  in  which  he 
had  ordered  the  watch  for  the  security  of  the  family 
On  the  subject  of  his  own  excursion  to  the  forest, 
and  all  connected  therewith,  he  was  guardedly 
silent. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  relate  the  manner  in  which 
this  startling  information  was  received.  The  cold 
and  reserved  brow  of  the  Puritan  became  still  more 
thoughtful ;  the  young  men  looked  grave,  but  reso 
lute  ;  the  maidens  of  the  household  grew  pale,  shud 
dered,  and  whispered  hurriedly  together ;  while  the 
little  Ruth,  and  a  female  child  of  nearly  her  own 
age,  named  Martha,  clung  close  to  the  side  of  the 
mistress  of  the  family,  who,  having  nothing  new  to 
learn,  had  taught  herself  to  assume  the  appearance 
of  a  resolution  she  was  far  from  feeling. 

The  first  visitation  which  befell  the  listeners, 
after  their  eager  ears  had  drunk  in  the  intelligence 
Content  so  briefly  imparted,  was  a  renewal  of  the 
spiritual  strivings  of  his  father  in  the  form  of  prayer. 
A  particular  petition  was  put  up  in  quest  of  light 
on  their  future  proceedings,  for  mercy  on  all  men, 
for  a  better  mind  to  those  who  wandered  through 
the  wilderness  seeking  victims  of  their  wrath,  for 
the  gifts  of  grace  on  the  heathen,  and  finally  for 
victory  over  all  their  carnal  enemies,  let  them  come 
whence  or  in  what  aspect  they  might. 

Fortified  by  these  additional  exercises,  old  Mark 
next  made  himself  the  master  of  all  the  signs  and 
evidences  of  the  approach  of  danger,  by  a  more 
rigid  and  minute  inquiry  into  the  visible  circum 
stances  of  the  arrest  of  the  young  savage.  Content 
received  a  merited  and  grateful  reward  for  his  pru 
dence,  in  the  approbation  of  one  whom  he  still  con- 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  73 

tinued  to  revere  with  a  mental  dependence  little 
less  than  that  with  which  he  had  leaned  on  his 
father's  wisdom  in  the  days  of  his  childhood. 

"  Thou  hast  done  well  and  wisely,"  said  his  fa 
ther;  "  but  more  remaineth  to  be  performed  by  thy 
wisdom  and  fortitude.  We  have  had  tidings  that 
the  heathen  near  the  Providence  Plantations  are 
unquiet,  and  that  they  are  lending  their  minds  to 
wicked  counsellors.  We  are  not  to  sleep  in  too 
much  security,  because  a  forest  journey  of  a  few 
days  lies  between  their  villages  and  our  own  clear 
ing.  Bring  forth  the  captive;  I  will  question  him 
on  the  matter  of  this  visit." 

Until  now,  so  much  did  the  fears  of  all  turn  to 
wards  the  enemies  who  were  believed  to  be  lurking 
near,  that  little  thought  had  been  bestowed  on  the 
prisoner  in  the  block-house.  Content,  who  well 
knew  the  invincible  resolution,  no  less  than  the  art 
of  an  Indian,  had  forborne  to  question  him  when 
taken ;  for  he  believed  the  time  to  be  better  suited 
to  vigilant  action,  than  to  interrogatories  that  the 
character  of  the  boy  was  likely  to  render  perfectly 
useless.  He  now  proceeded,  however,  with  an 
interest  that  began  to  quicken  as  circumstances 
rendered  its  indulgence  less  unsuitable,  to  seek  his 
captive,  in  order  to  bring  him  before  the  searching 
ordeal  of  his  father's  authority. 

The  key  of  the  lower  door  of  the  block-house 
hung  where  it  had  been  deposited ;  the  ladder  was 
replaced,  and  Content  mounted  quietly  to  the 
apartment  where  he  had  placed  his  captive.  The 
room  was  the  lowest  of  three  that  the  building 
contained,  all  being  above  that  which  might  be 
termed  its  basement.  The  latter,  having  no  aperture 
but  its  door,  was  a  dark,  hexagonal  space,  partly 
filled  with  such  articles  as  might  be  needed  in  the 
event  of  an  alarm,  and  which,  at  the  same  time, 
were  freauently  required  for  the  purposes  of  do- 
7 


74  THE    WEPT 

mestic  use.  In  the  centre  of  the  area  was  a  deep 
well,  so  fitted  and  protected  by  a  wall  of  stone,  as 
to  admit  of  water  being  drawn  into  the  rooms 
above.  The  door  itself  was  of  massive  hewn  timber. 
The  squared  logs  of  the  upper  stories  projected  a 
little  beyond  the  stone-work  of  the  basement,  the 
second  tier  of  the  timbers  containing  a  few  loops, 
out  of  which  missiles  might  be  discharged  down 
wards,  on  any  assailants  that  approached  nearer 
than  should  be  deemed  safe  for  the  security  of  the 
basement.  As  has  been  stated,  the  two  principal 
stories  were  perforated  with  long  narrow  slits 
through  the  timber,  which  answered  the  double 
purposes  of  windows  and  loop-holes.  Though  the 
apartments  were  so  evidently  arranged  for  defence, 
the  plain  domestic  furniture  they  contained  was 
suited  to  the  wants  of  the  family,  should  they  be 
driven  to  the  building  for  refuge.  There  was  also 
an  apartment  in  the  roof,  or  attic,  as  already  men 
tioned  ;  but  it  scarcely  entered  into  the  more  im 
portant  uses  of  the  block-house.  Still  the  advantage 
which  it  received  from  its  elevation  was  not  over 
looked.  A  small  cannon,  of  a  kind  once  known  and 
much  used  under  the  name  of  grasshoppers,  had 
been  raised  to  the  place,  and  time  had  been,  when 
it  was  rightly  considered  as  of  the  last  importance 
to  the  safety  of  the  inmates  of  the  dwelling.  For 
some  years  its  muzzle  had  been  seen,  by  all  the 
straggling  aborigines  who  visited  the  valley,  frown 
ing  through  one  of  those  openings  which  were  now 
converted  into  glazed  windows ;  and  there  is  reasor 
to  think,  that  the  reputation  which  the  little  piece 
of  ordnance  thus  silently  obtained,  had  a  powerful 
agency  in  so  long  preserving  unmolested  the  peace 
of  the  valley. 

The  word  unmolested  is  perhaps  too  strong. 
More  than  one  alarm  had  in  fact  occurred,  though 
DO  positive  acts  of  violence  had  ever  been  com- 


OF   WISH-TOX-WISH.  76 

mitted  within  the  limits  which  the  Puritan  claimed 
as  his  own.  On  only  one  occasion,  however,  did 
matters  proceed  so  far  that  the  veteran  had  been 
induced  to  take  his  post  in  this  warlike  attic ;  where, 
there  is  little  doubt,  had  occasion  further  offered 
for  his  services,  he  would  have  made  a  suitable 
display  of  his  knowledge  in  the  science  of  gunnery. 
But  the  simple  history  of  the  Wish-Ton-Wish  had 
furnished  another  evidence  of  a  political  truth, 
which  cannot  be  too  often  presented  to  the  attention 
of  our  countrymen;  we  mean  that  the  best  preserv 
ative  of  peace  is  preparation  for  war.  In  the  case 
before  us,  the  hostile  attitude  assumed  by  old  Mark 
and  his  dependants  had  effected  all  that  was  desira 
ble,  without  proceeding  to  the  extremity  of  shedding 
blood.  Such  peaceful  triumphs  were  far  more  in 
accordance  with  the  present  principles  of  the 
Puritan,  than  it  would  have  been  with  the  reckless 
temper  which  had  governed  his  youth.  In"  the 
quaint  and  fanatical  humor  of  the  times,  he  had 
held  a  family  thanksgiving  around  the  instrument 
of  their  security,  and  from  that  moment  the  room 
itself  became  a  favorite  resorting-place  for  the  old 
soldier.  Thither  he  often  mounted,  even  in  the 
hours  of  deep  night,  to  indulge  in  those  secret 
spiritual  exercises  which  formed  the  chiefest 
solace,  and  seemingly,  indeed,  the  great  employ 
ment  of  his  life.  In  consequence  of  this  habit,  the 
attic  of  the  block-house  came  in  time  to  be  con 
sidered  sacred  to  the  uses  of  the  master  of  the 
valley.  The  care  and  thought  of  Content  had 
gradually  supplied  it  with  many  conveniences  that 
might  contribute  to  the  personal  comfort  of  his 
father,  while  the  spirit  was  engaged  in  these  mental 
conflicts.  At  length,  the  old  man  was  known  to  use 
the  mattress,  that  among  other  things  it  now  con 
tained,  and  to  pass  the  time  between  the  setting 
and  rising  of  the  sun  in  its  solitude.  The  aperture 


76  THE    WEPT 

originally  cut  for  the  exhibition  of  the  grasshopper 
had  been  glazed ;  and  no  article  of  comfort,  which 
was  once  caused  to  mount  the  difficult  ladder  that 
led  to  the  chamber,  was  ever  seen  to  descend. 

There  was  something  in  the  austere  sanctity  of 
old  Mark  Heathcote,  that  was  favorable  to  the  prac 
tices  of  an  anchorite.  The  youths  of  the  dwelling 
regarded  his  unbending  brow,  and  the  undisturbed 
gravity  of  the  eye  it  shadowed,  with  a  respect  akin 
to  awe.  Had  the  genuine  benevolence  of  his  char 
acter  been  less  tried,  or  had  he  mingled  in  active 
life  at  a  later  period,  it  might  readily  have  been 
his  fate  to  have  shared  in  the  persecution  which 
his  countrymen  heaped  on  those  who  were  believed 
to  deal  with  influences  it  is  thought  impious  to  ex 
ercise.  Under  actual  circumstances,  however,  the 
sentiment  went  no  farther  than  a  deep  and  univer 
sal  reverence,  that  left  its  object,  and  the  neglected 
little  piece  of  artillery,  to  the  quiet  possession  of 
an  apartment,  to  invade  which  would  have  been 
deemed  an  act  bordering  on  sacrilege. 

The  business  of  Content,  on  the  occasion  which 
caused  his  present  visit  to  the  edifice  whose  history 
and  description  we  have  thought  it  expedient  thus 
to  give  at  some  length,  led  him  no  farther  than  to 
the  lowest  of  its  more  military  apartments.  On 
raising  the  trap,  for  the  first  time  a  feeling  of  doubt 
came  over  him,  as  to  the  propriety  of  having  left 
the  boy  so  long,  unsolaced  by  words  of  kindness,  or 
by  deed  of  charity.  It  was  appeased  by  observing 
that  his  concern  was  awakened  in  behalf  of  one 
whose  spirit  was  quite  equal  to  sustain  greater 
trials. 

The  young  Indian  stood  before  one  of  tne  loops, 
looking  out  upon  that  distant  forest  in  which  he 
had  so  lately  roamed  at  liberty,  with  a  gaze  too 
riveted  to  turn  aside  even  at  the  interruption  oc 
casioned  by  the  presence  of  his  captor. 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  77 

"  Come  from  thy  prison,  child,"  said  Content,  in 
the  tones  of  mildness ;  "  whatever  may  have  been 
thy  motive  in  lurking  around  this  dwelling,  thou  art 
human,  and  must  know  human  wants ;  come  forth, 
and  receive  food ;  none  here  will  harm  thee." 

The  language  of  commiseration  is  universal. 
Though  the  words  of  the  speaker  were  evidently 
unintelligible  to  him  for  whose  ears  they  were  in 
tended,  their  import  was  conveyed  in  the  kindness 
of  the  accents.  The  eyes  of  the  boy  turned  slowly 
from  the  view  of  the  woods,  and  he  looked  his  cap 
tor  long  and  steadily  in  the  face.  Content  now  in 
deed  discovered  that  he  had  spoken  in  a  language 
that  was  unknown  to  his  captive,  and  he  endeavor 
ed  by  gestures  of  kindness  to  invite  the  lad  to  fol 
low.  He  was  silently  and  quietly  obeyed.  On 
reaching  the  court,  however,  the  prudence  of  a 
border  proprietor  in  some  degree  overcame  his 
feelings  of  compassion. 

"Bring  hither  yon  tether,"  he  said  to  Whittal 
Ring,  who  at  the  moment  was  passing  towards  the 
stables ;  "  here  is  one  wild  as  the  most  untamed  of 
thy  colts.  Man  is  of  our  nature  and  of  our  spirit, 
let  him  be  of  what  color  it  may  have  pleased  Prov 
idence  to  stamp  his  features ;  but  he  who  would 
have  a  young  savage  in  his  keeping  on  the  morrow, 
must  look  sharply  to  his  limbs  to-day." 

The  lad  submitted  quietly,  until  a  turn  of  the 
rope  was  passed  around  one  of  his  arms ;  but  when 
Content  was  fain  to  complete  the  work  by  bringing 
the  other  limb  into  the  same  state  of  subjection, 
the  boy  glided  from  his  grasp,  and  cast  the  fetters 
from  him  in  disdain.  This  act  of  decided  resistance 
was,  however,  followed  by  no  effort  to  escape.  The 
moment  his  person  was  released  from  a  confinement 
which  he  probably  considered  as  implying  distrust 
of  his  ability  to  endure  pain  with  the  fortitude  of 
a  warrior,  the  lad  turned  quietly  and  proudly  to  his 


78  THE  WEPT 

captor,  and,  with  an  eye  in  which  scorn  and  haugh 
tiness  were  alike  glowing,  seemed  to  defy  the  ful 
ness  of  his  anger. 

"  Be  it  so,"  resumed  the  equal-minded  Content 
"  if  thou  likcst  not  the  bonds,  which,  notwithstand 
ing  the  pride  of  man,  are  often  healthful  to  the  body, 
keep  then  the  use  of  thy  limbs,  and  see  that  they 
do  no  mischief.  Whittal,  look  thou  to  the  postern, 
and  remember  it  is  forbidden  to  go  afield,  until  my 
father  hath  had  this  heathen  under  examination. 
The  cub  is  seldom  found  far  from  the  cunning  of 
the  .aged  bear." 

He  then  made  a  sign  to  the  boy  to  follow,  and 
proceeded  to  the  apartment  where  his  father,  sur 
rounded  by  most  of  the  family,  awaited  their  com 
ing.  Uncompromising  domestic  discipline  was  one 
of  the  striking  characteristics  of  the  sway  of  the 
Puritans.  That  austerity  of  manner  which  was 
thought  to  mark  a  sense  of  a  fallen  and  probationary 
state,  was  early  taught;  for,  among  a  people  who 
deemed  all  mirth  a  sinful  levity,  the  practice  of 
self-command  would  readily  come  to  be  esteemed 
the  basis  of  virtue.  But,  whatever  might  have 
been  the  peculiar  merit  of  Mark  Heathcote  and  his 
household  in  this  particular,  it  was  likely  to  be  ex 
ceeded  by  the  exhibition  of  the  same  quality  in  the 
youth  who  had  so  strangely  become  their  captive. 

We  have  already  said,  that  this  child  of  the  woods 
might  have  seen  some -fifteen  years.  Though  he  had 
shot  upwards  like  a  vigorous  and  thrifty  plant,  and 
with  the  freedom  of  a  thriving  sapling  in  his  native 
forests,  rearing  its  branches  towards  the  light,  his 
stature  had  not  yet  reached  that  of  man.  In  height, 
form,  and  attitudes,  he  was  a  model  of  active,  nat 
ural,  and  graceful  boyhood.  But,  while  his  limbs 
were  so  fair  in  their  proportions,  they  were  scarcely 
muscular ;  still,  every  movement  exhibited  a  free 
dom  and  ease  which  announced  the  grace  of  child- 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  79 

hood,  without  the  smallest  evidence  of  that  restraint 
which  creeps  into  our  air  as  the  factitious  feelings 
of  later  life  begin  to  assert  their  influence.  The 
smooth,  rounded  trunk  of  the  mountain  ash  is  not 
more  upright  and  free  from  blemish,  than  was  the 
figure  of  the  boy,  who  moved  into  the  curious  circle 
that  opened  for  his  entrance  and  closed  against  his 
retreat,  with  the  steadiness  of  one  who  came  to 
bestow  instead  of  appearing  to  receive  judgment. 

"  I  will  question  him,"  said  old  Mark  Heathcote, 
attentively  regarding  the  keen  and  settled  eye  that 
met  his  long,  stern  gaze  as  steadily  as  a  less  intelli 
gent  creature  of  the  woods  would  return  the  look 
of  man,  "I  will -question  him;  and  perchance  fear 
will  wring  from  his  lips  a  confession  of  the  evil  that 
he  and  his  have  meditated  against  me  and  mine." 

"  I  think  he  is  ignorant  of  our  forms  of  speech," 
returned  Content;  ""for  the  words  of  neither  kind 
ness  nor  anger  will  force  him  to  a  change  of  fea 
ture  " 

"It  is  then  meet  thai  we  commence  by  asking 
him,  who  hath  the  secret  to  open  all  hearts,  to  be 
our  assistant."  The  Puritan  then  raised  his  voice 
in  a  short  and  exceedingly  particular  petition,  in 
which  he  implored  the  Ruler  of  the  Universe  to 
interpret  his  meaning,  in  the  forthcoming  examina 
tion,  in  a  manner  that,  had  his  request  been  grant 
ed,  would  have  savored  not  a  little  of  the  miracu 
lous.  With  this  preparation.,  he  proceeded  directly 
to  his  task.  But  neither  questions,  signs,  nor  prayer, 
produced  the  slightest  visible  effect  The  boy  gazed 
at  the  rigid  arid  austere  countenance  of  his  inter 
rogator,  while  the  words  were  issuing  from  his 
lips ;  but,  the  instant  they  ceased,  his  searching  and 
quick  eye  rolled  over  the  different  curious  faces  by 
which  he  was  hemmed  in,  as  if  he  trusted  more  to 
the  sense  of  sight  than  that  of  hearing,  for  the  in 
formation  he  naturally  sought  concerning  his  future 


80  THE    WEPT 

lot.  It  was  found  impossible  to  obtain  from  him 
gesture  or  sound  that  should  betray  either  the  pur 
port  of  his  questionable  visit,  his  own  personal  ap 
pellation,  or  that  of  his  tribe. 

"  I  have  been  among  the  red  skins  of  the  Provi 
dence  Plantations,"  Eben  Dudley  at  length  ventur 
ed  to  observe ;  "  and  their  language,  though  but  a 
crooked  and  irrational  jargon,  is  not  unknown  to 
me.  With  the  leave  of  all  present,"  he  continued, 
regarding  the  Puritan  in  a  manner  to  betray  that 
this  general  term  meant  him  alone,  "  with  the  leave 
of  all  present,  I  will  put  it  to  the  younker  in  such 
a  fashion  that  he  will  be  glad  to  answer." 

Receiving  a  look  of  assent,  the  borderer  uttered 
certain  uncouth  and  guttural  sounds,  which,  not 
withstanding  they  entirely  failed  of  their  effect,  he 
stoutly  maintained  were  the  ordinary  terms  of  salu 
tation  among  the  people  to  whom  the  prisoner  was 
supposed  to  belong. 

"  I  know  him  to  be  a  Narragansett,"  continued 
Eben,  reddening  with  vexation  at  his  defeat,  and 
throwing  a  glance  of  no  peculiar  amity  at  the  youth 
who  had  so  palpably  refuted  his  claim  to  skill  in 
the  Indian  tongues;  "you  see  he  hath  the  shells  of 
the  sea-side  worked  into  the"  bordering  of  his  moc- 
casons;  and  besides  this  sign,  which  is  certain  as 
that  night  hath  its  stars,  he  beareth  the  look  of  a 
chief  that  was  slain  by  the  Pequods,  at  the  wish  of 
us  Christians,  after  an  affair  in  which,  whether  it  was 
well  done  or  ill  done,  I  did  some  part  of  the  work 
myself." 

"  And  how  call  you  that  chief?"  demanded  Mark. 

"  Why,  he  had  various  names,  according  to  the 
business  he  was  on.  To  some  he  was  known  as  the 
Leaping  Panther,  for  he  w,is  a  man  of  an  extraor 
dinary  jump;  and  others  again  used  to  style  him 
Pepperage,  since  there  was  a  saying  that  neither 
bullet  nor  sword  could  enter  his  body :  though  tha 


OF   WISH-TON- WISH.  81 

WAS  a  mistake,  as  his  death  hath  fully  proven.  But 
his  real  name,  according  to  the  uses  and  sounds  of 
his  own  people,  was  My  Anthony  Mow." 

"  My  Anthony  Mow !" 

"  Yes :  My,  meaning  that  he  was  their  chief;  An 
thony,  being  the  given  name ;  and  Mow,  that  of  the 
breed  of  which  he  came  ;"  rejoined  Eben  with  con 
fidence,  satisfied  that  he  had  finally  produced  a  suf 
ficiently  sonorous  appellative  and  a  perfectly  lucid 
etymology.  But  criticism  was  diverted  from  its  aim 
by  the  action  of  the  prisoner,  as  these  equivocal 
sounds  struck  his  ear.  Ruth  recoiled,  and  clasped 
her  little  namesake  closer  to  her  side,  when  she  saw 
the  dazzling  brightness  of  his  glowing  eyes,  and  the 
sudden  and  expressive  dilation  of  his  nostrils.  For  a 
moment,  his  lips  were  compressed  with  more  than 
the,  usual  force  of  Indian  gravity,  and  then  they 
slightly  severed.  A  low,  soft,  and  as  even  the  startled 
matron  was  obliged  to  confess,  a  plaintive  sound 
issued  from  between  them,  repeating  mournfully — 

"  Miantonimoh !" 

The  word  was  uttered  with  a  distinct,  but  deeply 
guttural  enunciation. 

"  The  child  mourneth  for  its  parent,"  exclaimed 
the  sensitive  mother.  "  The  hand  that  slew  the 
warrior  may  have  done  an  evil  deed !" 

"  I  see  the  evident  and  foreordering  will  of  a  wise 
Providence  in  this,"  said  Mark  Heathcote  with  so 
lemnity.  "  The  youth  hath  been  deprived  of  one  who 
might  have  enticed  him  still  deeper  into  the  bonds 
of  the  heathen,  and  hither  hath  he  been  led  in  or 
der  to  be  placed  upon  the  straight  and  narrow  path. 
He  shall  become  a  dweller  among  mine,  and  we  will 
strive  against  the  evil  of  his  mind  until  instruction 
shall  prevail.  Let  him  be  fed  and  nurtured,  equally 
with  the  things  of  life  and  the  things  of  the  world ; 
for  who  knoweth  that  which  is  designed  in  his  be 
half?" 


82  THE    WEPT 

If  there  were  more  of  faith  than  of  rational  con 
clusion  in  this  opinion  of  the  old  Puritan,  there  was 
no  external  evidence  to  contradict  it.  While  the  ex 
amination  of  the  hoy  was  going  on  in  the  dwelling, 
a  keen  scrutiny  had  taken  place  in  the  out-buildings, 
and  in  the  adjacent  fields.  Those  engaged  in  this 
duty  soon  returned,  to  say  that  not  the  smallest  trace 
of  an  ambush  was  visible  about  the  place ;  and  as 
the  captive  himself  had  no  weapons  of  hostility, 
even  Ruth  began  to  hope  that  the  mysterious  con 
ceptions  of  her  father  on  the  subject  were  not  en 
tirely  delusive.  The  captive  was  now  fed,  and  old 
Mark  was  on  the  point  of  making  a  proper  begin 
ning  in  the  task  he  had  so  gladly  assumed,  by  an 
up-offering  of  thanks,  when  Whittal  Ring  broke 
rudely  into  the  room,  and  disturbed  the  solemnity 
of  his  preparations,  by  a  sudden  and  boisterous  out 
cry. 

"  Away  with  scythe  and  sickle,"  shouted  the  wit 
ling  ;  "  it 's  many  a  day  since  the  fields  of  Wish-Ton- 
Wish  have  been  trodden  down  by  horsemen  in  buff' 
jerkins,  or  ambushed  by  creeping  Wampanoags." 

"  There  is  danger  at  hand !"  exclaimed  the  sen 
sitive  Ruth.  "  Husband,  the  warning  was  timely." 

"  Here  are  truly  some  riding  from  the  forest,  and 
drawing  nigh  to  the  dwelling ;  but  as  they  are  seem 
ingly  men  of  our  kind  and  faith,  we  have  need  rather 
of  rejoicing  than  terror.  They  bear  the  air  of  mes 
sengers  from  the  River." 

Mark  Heathcote  listened  with  surprise,  and  per 
haps  with  a  momentary  uneasiness ;  but  all  emotion 
passed  away  on  the  instant,  for  one  so  disciplined  in 
mind  rarely  permitted  any  outward  exposure  of  his 
secret  thoughts.  The  Puritan  calmly  issued  an  order 
to  replace  the  prisoner  in  the  block-house,  assigning 
the  upper  of  the  two  principal  floors  for  his  keep 
ing;  and  then  he  prepared  himself  to  receive  guests 
that  were  little  wont  to  disturb  the  quiet  of  his  se- 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  83 

eluded  valley.  He  was  still  in  the  act  of  giving  forth 
the  necessary  mandates,  when  the  tramp  of  horses 
was  heard  in  the  court,  and  he  was  summoned  to 
the  door  to  greet  his  unknown  visiters. 

"We  have  reached  Wish-Ton-Wish,  and  the 
dwelling  of  Captain  Mark  Heathcote,"  said  one, 
who  appeared,  by  his  air  and  better  attire,  to  be  the 
principal  of  four  that  composed  the  party. 

"  By  the  favor  of  Providence ;  I  call  myself  the 
unworthy  owner  of  this  place  of  refuge." 

"  Then  a  subject  so  loyal,  and  a  man  who  hath  so 
long  proved  himself  faithful  in  the  wilderness,  will 
not  turn  from  his  door  the  agents  of  his  Anointed 
Master." 

"There  is  one  greater  than  any  of  earth,  who  hath 
taught  us  to  leave  the  latch  free.  I  pray  you  to 
alight,  and  to  partake  of  that  we  can  offer." 

With  this  courteous  but  quaint  explanation,  the 
horsemen  dismounted ;  and,  giving  their  steeds  into 
the  keeping  of  the  laborers  of  the  farm,  they  enter 
ed  the  dwelling. 

While  the  maidens  of  Ruth  were  preparing  a  re 
past  suited  to  the  hour  and  to  the  quality  of  the 
guests,  Mark  and  his  son  had  abundant  opportunity 
to  examine  the  appearance  of  the  strangers.  They 
were  men  who  seemed  to  wear  visages  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  characters  of  their  entertainers, 
being  in  truth  so  singularly  demure  and  grave  in 
aspect,  as  to  excite  some  suspicion  of  their  being 
newly-converted  zealots  to  the  mortifying  customs 
of  the  Colony.  Notwithstanding  their  extraordinary 
gravity,  and  contrary  to  the  usages  of  those  regions, 
too,  they  bore  about  their  persons  certain  evidence 
of  being  used  to  the  fashions  of  the  other  hemi 
sphere.  The  pistols  attached  to  their  saddle-bows, 
and  other  accoutrements  of  a  warlike  aspect,  would 
perhaps  have  attracted  no  observation,  had  they  not 
oeen  accompanied  by  a  fashion  in  the  doublet,  the 


S4  THE    WEFT 

hat,  and  the  boot,  that  denoted  a  greater  intercourse 
with  the  mother  country,  than  was  usual  among 
the  less  sophisticated  natives  of  those  regions.  None 
traversed  the  forests  without  the  means  of  defence 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  few  wore  the  hostile  imple 
ments  with  so  much  of  a  worldly  air,  or  with  so 
many  minor  particularities  of  some  recent  caprice 
in  fashion.  As  they  had  however  announced  them 
selves  to  be  officers  of  the  King,  they,  who  of  ne 
cessity  must  be  chiefly  concerned  in  the  object  of 
their  visit,  patiently  awaited  the  pleasure  of  the 
strangers,  to  learn  why  duty  had  called  them  so  far 
from  all  the  more  ordinary  haunts  of  men :  for,  like 
the  native  owners  of  the  soil,  the  self-restrained  re 
ligionists  appeared  to  reckon  an  indiscreet  haste  in 
any  thing,  among  the  more  unmanly  weaknesses. 
Nothing  for  the  first  half-hour  of  their  visit  escaped 
the  guarded  lips  of  men  evidently  well  skilled  in  their 
present  duty,  which  might  lead  to  a  clue  of  its  pur 
port.  The  morning  meal  passed  almost  without 
discourse,  and  one  of  the  party  had  arisen  with  the 
professed  object  of  looking  to  their  steeds,  before  he, 
who  seemed  the  chief,  led  the  conversation  to  a 
subject,  that  by  its  political  bearing  might,  in  some 
degree,  be  supposed  to  have  a  remote  connexion 
with  the  principal  object  of  his  journey  to  that  se 
questered  valley. 

"  Have  the  tidings  of  the  gracious  boon  that  hath 
lately  flowed  from  the  favor  of  the  King,  reached 
this  distant  settlement?"  asked  the  principal  per 
sonage,  one  that  wore  a  far  less  military  air  than 
a  younger  companion,  who,  by  his  confident  mien, 
appeared  to  be  the  second  in  authority. 

"To  what  boon  hath  thy  words  import?"  de 
manded  the  Puritan,  turning  a  glance  of  the  eye 
at  his  son  and  daughter,  together  with  the  others 
in  hearing,  as  if  to  admonish  them  to  be  prudent. 

"I  speak  of  the  Royal  Charter  by  which  the 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  8£ 

people  on  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut,  and  they  of 
the  Colony  of  New-Haven,  are  henceforth  permitted 
to  unite  in  government;  granting  them  liberty  of 
conscience,  and  great  freedom  of  self-control." 

"  Such  a  gift  were  worthy  of  a  King !  Hath 
Charles  done  this?" 

"  That  hath  he,  and  much  more  that  is  fitting 
in  a  kind  and  royal  mind.  The  realm  is  finally  freed 
from  the  abuses  of  usurpers,  and  power  now  resteth 
in  the  hands  of  a  race  long  set  apart  for  its  priv 
ileges." 

"  It  is  to  be  wished  that  practice  shall  render 
them  expert  and  sage  in  its  uses,"  rejoined  Mark, 
somewhat  drily. 

"  It  is  a  merry  Prince !  and  one  but  little  given 
to  the  study  and  exercises  of  his  martyred  father ; 
but  he  hath  great  cunning  in  discourse,  and  few 
around  his  dread  person  have  keener  wit  or  more 
ready  tongue." 

Mark  bowed  his  head  in  silence,  seemingly  little 
disposed  to  push  the  discussion  of  his  earthly 
master's  qualities  to  a  conclusion  that  might  prove 
offensive  to  so  loyal  an  admirer.  One  inclining  to 
suspicion  would  have  seen,  or  thought  he  saw, 
certain  equivocal  glances  from  the  stranger,  while 
he  was  thus  lauding  the  vivacious  qualities  of  the 
restored  monarch,  which  should  denote  a  desire  to 
detect  how  far  the  eulogiums  might  be  grateful  to 
his  host.  He  acquiesced  however  in  the  wishes  of 
the  Puritan,  though  whether  understandingly,  or 
without  design,  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  say, 
and  submitted  to  change  the  discourse. 

"  It  is  likely,  by  thy  presence,  that  tidings  have 
reached  the  Colonies  from  home,"  said  Content, 
who  understood,  by  the  severe  and  reserved  ex 
pression  of  his  father's  features,  that  it  was  a 
fitting  time  for  him  to  interpose. 

"  There  is  one  arrived  in  the  Bay,  within  the 
8 


86  THE  WEPT 

month,  by  means  of  a  King's  frigate ;  but  no  trader 
hath  yet  passed  between  the  countries;  except  the 
ship  which  maketh  the  annual  voyage  from  Bristol 
to  Boston." 

"And  he  who  hath  arrived — doth  he  come  in 
authority  ?"  demanded  Mark ;  "  or  is  he  merely 
another  servant  of  the  Lord,  seeking  to  rear  his 
tabernacle  in  the  wilderness  ?" 

"Thou  shalt  know  the  nature  of  his  errand," 
returned  the  stranger,  casting  a  glance  of  malicious 
intelligence  obliquely  towards  his  companions,  at 
the  same  time  that  he  arose  and  placed  in  the  hand 
of  his  host  a  commission  which  evidently  bore  the 
Seal  of  State.  "  It  is  expected  that  all  aid  will  be 
given  to  one  bearing  this  warranty,  by  a  subject 
of  a  loyalty  so  approved  as  that  of  Captain  Mark 
Heathcote." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

"  But,  by  your  leave, 
I  am  an  officer  of  state,  and  come 

To  speak  with " 

CORIOLANUS. 

•  NOTWITHSTANDING  the  sharp  look  which  the  Mes 
senger  of  the  Crown  deliberately  and  now  openly 
fastened  on  the  master  of  Wish-Ton-Wish,  while 
the  latter  was  reading  the  instrument  that  was 
placed  before  his  eyes,  there  was  no  evidence  of 
uneasiness  to  be  detected  in  the  unmoved  features 
of  the  latter.  Mark  Heathcote  had  too  long  school 
ed  his  passions,  to  suffer  an  unseemly  manifestation 
of  surprise  to  escape  him ;  and  he  was  by  nature  a 
man  of  far  foo  much  nerve,  to  betray  alarm  at  any 
trifling  exhibition  of  danger.  Returning  the  parch 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  87 

ment  to  the  other,  he  said  with  unmoved  calmness 
to  his  son — 

"We  must  open  wide  the  doors  of  Wish-Ton- 
Wish.  Here  is  one  charged  with  authority  to  look 
into  the  secrets  of  all  the  dwellings  of  the  colony.' 
Then,  turning  with  dignity  to  the  agent  of  the 
Crown,  he  added,  "  Thou  hadst  better  commence 
thy  duty  in  season,  for  we  are  many  and  occupy 
much  space." 

The  face  of  the  stranger  flushed  a  little,  it  might 
have  been  with  shame  for  the  vocation  in  which  he 
had  come  so  far,  or  it  might  have  been  in  resent 
ment  at  so  direct  a  hint  that  the  sooner  his  disa 
greeable  office  should  be  ended,  the  better  it  would 
please  his  host.  Still,  he  betrayed  no  intention  of 
shrinking  from  its  performance.  On  the  contrary, 
discarding  somewhat  of  that  subdued  manner  which 
he  had  probably  thought  it  politic  to  assume,  while 
sounding  the  opinions  of  one  so  rigid,  he  broke  out 
rather  suddenly  in  the  exhibition  of  a  humor  some 
what  better  suited  to  the  tastes  of  him  he  served. 

"  Come  then,"  he  cried,  winking  at  his  compan 
ions,  "  since  doors  are  opened,  it  would  speak  ill  of 
our  breeding  should  we  refuse  to  enter.  Captain 
Heathcote  has  been  a  soldier,  and  he  knows  how  to 
excuse  a  traveller's  freedom.  Surely  one  who  has 
tasted  of  the  pleasures  of  the  camp,  must  weary  at 
times  of  this  sylvan  life !" 

"  The  stedfast  in  faith  weary  not,  though  the  road 
be  long  and  the  wayfaring  grievous." 

"Hum — 'tis  pity  that  the  journeying  between 
merry  England  and  these  Colonies  is  not  more  brisk. 
I  do  not  presume  to  instruct  a  gentleman  who  is 
my  senior,  and  peradventure  my  better;  but  oppor 
tunity  is  everything  in  a  man's  fortunes.  It  were 
charity  to  let  you  know,  worthy  sir,  that  opinions 
have  changed  at  home:  it  is  full  a  twelvemonth 
since  I  have  heard  a  line  of  the  Psalms,  or  a  verse 


88  THE    WEPT 

of  St.  Paul  quoted,  in  discourse ;  at  least  by  men 
who  are  at  all  esteemed  for  their  discretion." 

"  This  change  in  the  fashion  of  speech  may  bet 
ter  suit  thy  earthly  than  thy  heavenly  master,"  said 
Mark  Heathcote,  sternly. 

"  Well,  well,  that  peace  may  exist  between  us, 
we  will  not  bandy  words  about  a  text  more  or  less, 
if  we  may  escape  the  sermon,"  rejoined  the  stran 
ger,  no  longer  affecting  restraint,  but  laughing  with 
sufficient  freedom  at  his  own  conceit ;  a  species  of 
enjoyment  in  which  his  companions  mingled  with 
great  good-will,  and  without  much  deference  to  the 
humor  of  those  under  whose  roof  they  found  them 
selves. 

A  small  glowing  spot  appeared  on  the  pale  cheek 
of  the  Puritan,  and  disappeared  again,  like  some 
transient  deception  produced  by  the  play  of  light. 
Even  the  meek  eye  of  Content  kindled  at  the  in 
sult  ;  but,  like  his  father,  the  practice  of  self-denial, 
and  a  never-slumbering  consciousness  of  his  own 
imperfections,  smothered  the  momentary  exhibition 
of  displeasure. 

"  If  thou  hast  authority  to  look  into  the  secret 
places  of  our  habitations,  do  thy  office,"  he  said, 
with  a  peculiarity  of  tone  which  served  to  remind 
the  other,  that  though  he  bore  the  commission  of 
the  Stuart,  he  was  in  an  extremity  of  his  Empire, 
where  even  the  authority  of  a  King  lost  some  of 
its  value. 

Affecting  to  be,  and  possibly  in  reality  conscious 
of  his  indiscretion,  the  stranger  hastily  disposed 
himself  to  the  execution  of  his  duty. 

"  It  would  be  a  great  and  a  pain-saving  move 
ment,"  he  said,  "  were  we  to  assemble  the  house 
hold  in  one  apartment.  The  government  at  home 
would  be  glad  to  hear  something  of  the  quality  of 
its  lieges  in  this  distant  quarter.  Thou  hast  doubt 
less  a  bell  to  summon  the  flock  at  stated  periods." 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  89 

"  Our  people  are  yet  near  the  dwelling,"  return 
ed  Content :  "  if  it  be  thy  pleasure,  none  shall  be 
absent  from  the  search." 

Gathering  from  the  eye  of  the  other  that  he  was 
serious  in  this  wish,  the  quiet  Colonist  proceeded  to 
the  gate,  and,  placing  a  shell  to  his  mouth,  blew 
one  of  those  blasts  that  are  so  often  heard  in  the 
forests  summoning  families  to  their  homes,  and  which 
are  alike  used  as  the  signals  of  peaceful  recall,  or 
of  alarm.  The  sound  soon  brought  all  within  hear 
ing  to  the  court,  whither  the  Puritan  and  his  un 
pleasant  guests  now  repaired  as  to  the  spot  best 
suited  to  the  purposes  of  the  latter. 

"Hallam,"  said  the  principal  personage  of  the 
four  visiters,  addressing  him  who  might  once  have 
be"en,  if  he  were  not  still,  some  subaltern  in  the 
forces  of  the  Crown,  for  he  was  attired  in  a  manner 
that  bespoke  him  but  a  half-disguised  dragoon,  "  1 
leave  thee  to  entertain  this  goodly  assemblage. 
Thou  mayst  pass  the  time  in  discoursing  on  the 
vanities  of  the  world,  of  which  I  believe  few  are 
better  qualified  to  speak  understandingly  than  thy 
self,  or  a  few  words  of  admonition  to  hold  fast  to 
the  faith  would  come  with  fitting  weight  from  thy 
lips.  But  look  to  it,  that  none  of  thy  flock  wander ; 
for  here  must  every  creature  of  them  remain,  sta 
tionary  as  the  indiscreet  partner  of  Lot,  till  I  have 
cast  an  eye  into  all  the  cunning  places  of  their 
abode.  So  set  wit  at  work,  and  show  thy  breeding 
as  an  entertainer." 

After  this  irreverent  charge  to  his  subordinate, 
the  speaker  signified  to  Content  and  his  father,  that 
he  and  his  remaining  attendant  would  proceed  to  a 
more  minute  examination  of  the  premises. 

When  Mark  Heathcote  saw  that  the  man  who 

had  so  rudely  broken  in  upon  the  peaceful  habits 

of  his  family  was  ready  to  proceed,  he  advanced 

steadily  in  his  front,  like  one  who  boldly  invited  in- 

'8* 


90  THE  WEPT 

quiry,  and  by  a  grave  gesture  desired  him  to  follow. 
The  stranger,  perhaps  as  much  from  habit  as  from 
any  settled  design,  first  cast  a  free  glance  around 
at  the  bevy  of  fluttered  maidens,  leered  even  upon 
the  modest  and  meek-eyed  Ruth  herself,  and  then 
took  the  direction  indicated  by  him  who  had  so  un 
hesitatingly  assumed  the  office  of  a  guide. 

The  object  of  this  examination  still  remained  a 
secret  between  those  who  made  it,  and  the  Puritan, 
who  had  probably  found  its  motive  in  the  written 
warranty  which  had  been  submitted  to  his  inspec 
tion.  That  it  proceeded  from  fitting  authority,  none 
might  doubt ;  and  that  it  was  in  some  manner  con 
nected  with  the  events  that  were  known  to  have 
wrought  so  sudden  and  so  great  a  change  in  tfie 
government  of  the  mother  country,  all  believed 
probable.  Notwithstanding  the  seeming  mystery 
of  the  procedure,  the  search  was  not  the  less  rigid. 
Few  habitations  of  any  size  or  pretension  were 
erected  in  those  times,  which  did  not  contain  cer 
tain  secret  places,  where  valuables  and  even  per 
sons  might  be  concealed,  at  need.  The  strangers 
displayed  great  familiarity  with  the  nature  and  or 
dinary  positions  of  these  private  recesses.  Not  a 
chest,  a  closet,  or  even  a  drawer  of  size,  escaped 
their  vigilance;  nor  was  there  a  plank  that  sounded 
hollow,  but  the  master  of  the  valley  was  called  on 
to  explain  the  cause.  In  one  or  two  instances, 
boards  were  wrested  violently  from  their  fasten 
ings,  and  the  cavities  beneath  were  explored,  with 
a  wariness  that  increased  as  the  investigation  pro 
ceeded  without  success. 

The  strangers  appeared  irritated  by  their  failure. 
An  hour  passed  in  the  keenest  scrutiny,  and  nothing 
had  transpired  which  brought  them  any  nearer  to 
their  object.  That  they  had  commenced  the  search 
with  more  than  usually  confident  anticipations  of  a 
favorable  result,  might  have  been  gathered  from 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  91 

the  boldness  of  tone  assumed  by  their  chief,  and  the 
pointed  personal  allusions  in  which,  from  time  to 
time,  he  indulged,  often  too  freely,  and  always  at 
some  expense  to  the  loyalty  of  the  Heathcotes.  But 
when  he  had  completed  the  circuit  of  the  buildings, 
having  entered  all  parts  from  their  cellars  to  the 
garrets,  his  spleen  became  so  strong  as,  in  some  de 
gree,  to  get  the  better  of  a  certain  parade  of  dis 
cretion,  which  he  had  hitherto  managed  to  maintain 
in  the  midst  of  all  his  levity. 

"  Hast  seen  nothing,  Mr.  Hallam  ?"  he  demanded 
of  the  individual  left  on  watch,  as  they  crossed  the 
court  in  retiring  from  the  last  of  the  out-buildings; 
"  or  have  those  traces  which  led  us  <o  this  distant 
settlement  proved  false?  Captain  Heathcote,  you 
have  seen  that  we  come  not  without  sufficient  war 
ranty,  and  it  is  in  my  power  to  say  we  come  not 
without  sufficient " 

Checking  himself  as  if  about  to  utter  more  than 
was  prudent,  he  suddenly  cast  an  eye  on  the  block 
house,  and  demanded  its  uses. 

"  It  is,  as  thou  seest,  a  building  erected  for  the 
purposes  of  defence,"  replied  Mark ;  "one  to  which, 
in  the  event  of  an  inroad  of  the  savages,  the  family 
may  fly  for  refuge." 

"  Ah  !  these  citadels  are  not  unknown  to  me.  I 
have  met  with  others  during  my  journey,  but  none 
so  formidable  or  so  military  as  this.  It  hath  a  soldier 
for  its  governor,  and  should  hold  out  for  a  reasonable 
siege.  Being  a  place  of  pretension,  we  will  look 
closer  into  its  mystery." 

He  then  signified  an  intention  to  close  the  search 
by  an  examination  of  this  edifice.  Content  unhes 
itatingly  threw  open  its  door,  and  invited  him  to 
enter. 

"  On  the  word  of  one  who,  though  now  engaged 
in  a  more  peaceful  calling,  has  been  a  campaigner 
in  his  time,  'twould  be  no  child's-play  to  carry  this 


92  THE    WEPT 

tower  without  artillery.  Had  th}  r  >  given  notice 
of  our  approach,  Captain  Heath  te,  the  entrance 
might  have  been  more  difficult  than  we  now  find  it. 
We  have  a  ladder,  here!  Where  the  means  of  mount 
ing  are  found,  there  must  be  something  to  tempt  one 
to  ascend.  I  will  taste  your  forest  air  from  an  upper 
room." 

"  You  will  find  the  apartment  above,  like  this  be 
low,  merely  provided  for  the  security  of  the  unof 
fending  dwellers  of  the  habitations,"  said  Content ; 
while  he  quietly  arranged  the  ladder  before  the 
trap,  and  then  led  the  way  himself  to  the  floor 
above. 

"  Here  have  we  loops  for  the  musketoons,"  cried 
the  stranger,  looking  about  him,  understandingly, 
"  and  reasonable  defences  against  shot.  Thou  hast 
not  forgotten  thy  art,  Captain  Heathcote,  and  I  con 
sider  myself  fortunate  in  having  entered  thy  fortress 
by  surprise,  or  I  should  rather  say,  in  amity,  since 
the  peace  is  not  yet  broken  between  us.  But  why 
have  we  so  much  of  household  gear  in  a  place  so 
evidently  equipped  for  war7?" 

"  Thou  forgettest  that  women  and  children  may 
be  driven  to  this  block  for  a  residence,"  replied  Con 
tent.  "  It  would  show  little  discretion  to  neglect 
matters  that  might  be  useful  to  their  wants." 

"  Is  there  trouble  with  the  savages  ?"  demanded 
the  stranger,  a  little  quickly ;  "  the  gossips  of  the 
Colony  bade  us  fear  nothing  on  that  head." 

"  One  cannot  say  at  what  hour  creatures  trained 
in  their  wild  natures  may  choose  to  rise.  The  dwell 
ers  on  the  borders  therefore  never  neglect  a  fitting 
caution." 

"Hist!"  interrupted  the  stranger;  "I  hear  a 
footstep  above.  Ha !  the  scent  will  prove  true  at 
last !  Hilloa,  Master  Hallam !"  he  cried  from  one  of 
the  loops,  "  let  thy  statues  of  salt  dissolve,  and  come 
hither  to  the  tower.  Here  is  work  for  a  regiment; 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  93 

for  w€,-ll  do  we  know  the  nature  of  that  we  are  tc 
deal  with." 

The  sentinel  in  the  court  shouted  to  his  compan 
ion  in  the  stables,  and  then,  openly  and  boisterously 
exulting  in  the  prospects  of  a  final  success  to  a 
search  which  had  hitherto  given  them  useless  em 
ployment  throughout  many  a  long  day  and  weary 
ride,  they  rushed  together  to  the  block-house. 

"  Now,  worthy  lieges  of  a  gracious  master,"  said 
the  leader,  when  he  perceived  himself  backed  by 
all  his  armed  followers,  and  speaking  with  the  air 
of  a  man  flushed  with  success,  "  now  quickly  pro 
vide  the  means  of  mounting  to  the  upper  story.  I 
have  thrice  heard  the  tread  of  man,  moving  across 
that  floor ;  though  it  hath  been  light  and  wary,  the 
planks  are  tell-tales,  and  have  not  had  their  school 
ing." 

Content  heard  the  request,  which  was  uttered 
sufficiently  in  the -manner  of  an  order,  perfectly 
unmoved.  Without  betraying  either -hesitation  or 
concern,  he  disposed  himself  to  comply.  Drawing 
the  light  ladder  through  the  trap  below,  he  placed 
it  against  the  one  above  'him,  and  ascending  he 
raised  the  door.  He  then  returned  to  the  floor  be 
neath,  making  a  quiet  gesture  to  imply  that  they 
who  chose  might  mount.  But  the  strangers  regard 
ed  each  other  with  very  visible  doubts.  Neither 
of  the  inferiors  seemed  disposed  to  precede  his  chief, 
and  the  latter  evidently  hesitated  as  to  the  order  in 
which  it  was  meet  to  make  the  necessary  advance. 

"  Is  there  no  other  manner  of  mounting,  but  by 
this  narrow  ascent  ?"  he  asked. 

"None.  Thou  wilt  find  the  ladder  secure,  and  of 
no  difficult  height.  It  is  intended  for  the  use  of  wo 
men  and  children." 

"Ay,"  muttered  the  officer,  "but  your  women 
and  children  are  not  called  upon  to  confront  the 
devil  in  a  human  form.  Fellows,  are  thy  weapons 


94  THE    WEPT 

in  serviceable  condition'?  Here  may  be  need  of 
spirit,  ere  we  get  our — Hist !  by  the  Divine  Right 
of  our  Gracious  Master  !  there  is  truly  one  stirring 
above.  Harkee,  my  friend ;  thou  knowest  the  road 
so  well,  we  will  choose  to  follow  thy  conduct." 

Content,  who  seldom  permitted  ordinary  events 
to  disturb  the  equanimity  of  his  temper,  quietly 
assented,  and  led  the  way  up  the  ladder,  like  one 
who  saw  no  ground  for  apprehension  in  the  under 
taking.  The  agent  of  the  crown  sprang  after  him, 
taking  care  to  keep  as  near  as  possible  to  the  per 
son  of  his  leader,  afid  cajjjng  to  his  inferiors  to  lose 
no  time  in  backing  him'Vith^their  support.  The 
whole  mounted  through  the  trap,  with  an  alacrity 
nothing  short  of  that  with  which  they  would  have 
pressed  through  a  dangerous  breach ;  nor  did  either 
of  the  four  take,  time  to  survey  the  lodgment  he 
had  made,  until-  the  whole  party  was  standing  in 
array,  with  hands  grasping  the  handles  of  their 
pistols,  or  seeding  as^t  were  instinctively  the  hilts 
of  their  broadswords^' 

"By  the  dark  visage  of  the  Stuart!"  exclaimed 
the  principal  personage,  after  satisfying  himself  by 
a  long  and  disappointed  gaze,  that  what  he  said 
was  true,  "here  is  nought  but  an  unarmed  savage 
boy  !" 

"Didst  expect  to  meet  else?"  demanded  the  still 
unmoved  Content. 

"Hum — that  which  we  expected  to  meet  is  suffi 
ciently  known  to  the  quaint  old  gentleman  below, 
and  to  our  own  good  wisdom.  If  thou  doubtest  of 
our  right  to  look  into  thy  very  hearts,  warranty 
for  that  we  do  can  be  forthcoming.  King  Charles 
hath  little  cause  to  be  tender  of  his  mercies  to  the 
dwellers  of  these  Colonies,  who  lent  but  too  willing 
ears  to  the  whinings  and  hypocrisies  of  the  wolves 
in  sheeps'  clothing,  of  whom  old  England  hath  now 
so  happily  gotten  rid.  Thy  buildings  shall  again  be 


or  WISH-TON-WISH.  96 

rummaged  from  the  bricks  of  the  chimney-tops  to 
the  corner-stone  in  thy  cellars,  unless  deceit  and 
rebellious  cunning  shall  be  abandoned,  and  the 
truth  proclaimed  with  the  openness  and  fairness  of 
bold-speaking  Englishmen." 

"  I  know  not  what  is  called  the  fairness  of  bold- 
speaking  Englishmen,  since  fairness  of  speech  is  not 
a  quality  of  one  people,  or  of  one  land ;  but  well  I 
do  know  that  deceit  is  sinful,  and  little  of  it,  1 
humbly  trust,  is  practised  in  this  settlement.  I  am 
ignorant  of  what  is  sought,  and  therefore  it  cannot 
be  that  I  meditate  treachery." 

"  Thou  hearest,  Hallam ;  he  reasoneth  on  a 
matter  that  toucheth  the  peace  and  safety  of  the 
King !"  cried  the  other,  his  arrogance  of  manner 
increasing  with  the  anger  of  disappointment.  "  But 
why  is  this  dark-skinned  boy  a  prisoner  ?  dost  dare 
to  constitute  thyself  a  sovereign  over  the  natives 
of  this  continent,  and  affect  to  have  shackles  and 
dungeons  for  such  as  meet  thy  displeasure  ?" 

"  The  lad  is  in  truth  a  captive  ;  but  he  has  been 
taken  in  defence  of  life,  and  hath  little  to  complain 
of,  more  than  loss  of  freedom." 

"I  will  inquire  deeply  into  this  proceeding. 
Though  commissioned  on  an  errand  of  different 
interest,  yet,  as  one  trusted  in  a  matter  of  moment, 
I  take  upon  me  the  office  of  protecting  every 
oppressed  subject  of  the  Crown.  There  may  grow 
discoveries  out  of  this  practice,  Hallam,  fit  to  go 
before  the  Council  itself." 

"  Thou  wilt  find  but  little  here,  worthy  of  the 
time  and  attention  of  those  burthened  with  the 
care  of  a  nation,"  returned  Content.  "  The  youth 
ful  heathen  was  found  lurking  near  our  habita 
tions,  the  past  night ;  and  he  is  kept  where  thou 
seest,  that  he  may  not  carry  the  tidings  of  our 
condition  to  his  people,  who  are  doubtless  outlying 


96  THE    WEPT 

in  the  forest,  waiting  for  the  fit  moment  to  work 
their  evil." 

"How  meanest  thou?"  hastily  exclaimed  the 
other,  "  at  hand,  in  the  forest,  didst  say?" 

"  There  can  be  little  doubt.  One  young  as  this 
would  scarce  be  found  distant  from  the  warriors  of 
his  tribe;  and  that  the  more  especially,  as  he  was 
taken  in  the  commission  of  an  ambush." 

•'I  hope  thy  people  are  not  without  good  pro 
vision  of  arms,  and  other  sufficient  muniments  of 
resistance.  I  trust  the  palisadoes  are  firm,  and  the 
posterns  ingeniously  defended." 

"  We  look  with  a  diligent  eye  to  our  safety,  for 
it  is  well  known  to  us  dwellers  on  the  borders  that 
there  is  little  security  but  in  untiring  watchfulness. 
The  young  men  were  at  the  gates  until  the  morn 
ing,  and  we  did  intend  to  make  a  strong  scouting 
into  the  woods  as  the  day  advanced,  in  order  to  look 
for  those  signs  that  may  lead  us  to  conclusions  on 
the  number  and  purposes  of  those  by  whom  we 
are  environed,  had  not  thy  visit  called  us  to  other 
duties." 

"  And  why  so  tardy  in  speaking  of  this  intent  ?" 
demanded  the  agent  of  the  King,  leading  the  way 
down  the  ladder  with  suspicious  haste.  "  It  is  a 
commendable  prudence,  and  must  not  be  delayed. 
I  take  upon  me  the  responsibleness  of  commanding 
that  all  proper  care  be  had  in  defence  of  the 
weaker  subjects  of  the  Crown  who  are  here  col 
lected.  Are  our  roadsters  well  replenished,  Hallam? 
Duty,  as  thou  sayest,  is  an  imperative  master ;  it 
recalls  us  more  into  the  heart  of  the  Colony.  I 
would  it  might  shortly  point  the  way  to  Europe !" 
he  muttered  as  lie  reached  the  ground.  "  Go,  fellows; 
see  to  our  beasts,  and  let  them  be  speedily  prepared 
for  departure." 

The  attendants,  though  men  of  sufficient  spirit 
in  open  war,  and  when  it  was  to  be  exercised  in 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  97 

a  fashion  to  which  they  were  accustomed,  had,  like 
other  mortals,  a  wholesome  deference  for  unknown 
and  terrific-looking  danger.  It  is  a  well-known 
truth,  and  one  that  has  been  proved  by  the  expe 
rience  of  two  centuries,  that  while  the  European 
soldier  has  ever  been  readiest  to  have  recourse  to 
the  assistance  of  the  terrible  warrior  of  the  Ameri 
can  forest,  he  has,  in  nearly  every  instance,  when 
retaliation  or  accident  has  made  him  the  object 
instead  of  the  spectator  of  the  ruthless  nature  of 
his  warfare,  betrayed  the  most  salutary,  and  fre 
quently  the  most  abject  and  ludicrous  apprehension 
of  the  prowess  of  his  ally.  While  Content  therefore 
looked  so  steadily,  though  still  seriously,  at  the 
peculiar  danger  in  which  he  was  placed,  the  four 
strangers  seemingly  saw  all  of  its  horrors  without 
any  of  the  known  means  of  avoiding  them.  Their 
chief  quickly  abandoned  the  insolence  of  office, 
and  the  tone  of  disappointment,  for  a  mien  of  greater 
courtesy ;  and,  as  policy  is  often  seen  suddenly  to 
change  the  sentiments  of  even  more  pretending 
personages,  when  interests  assume  a  new  aspect,  so 
did  his  language  rapidly  take  a  character  of  con 
ciliation  and  courtesy. 

The  handmaidens  were  no  longer  leered  at :  the 
mistress  of  the  dwelling  was  treated  with  marked 
deference ;  and  the  air  of  deep  respect  with  which 
even  the  principal  of  the  party  addressed  the  aged 
Puritan,  bordered  on  an  exhibition  of  commendable 
reverence.  Something  was  said,  in  the  way  of 
apology,  for  the  disagreeable  obligations  of  duty, 
and  of  a  difference  between  a  manner  that  was 
assumed  to  answer  secret  purposes,  and  that  which 
nature  and  a  sense  of  right  would  dictate :  but 
neither  Mark  nor  his  son  appeared  to  have  sufficient 
interest  in  the  motives  of  their  visiters,  to  put  them 
to  the  trouble  of  repeating  explanations  that  were  as 
9 


98  THE    WEPT 

awkward  to  those  who  uttered  them,  as  they  were 
unnecessary  to  those  who  listened. 

So  far  from  offering  any  further  obstacle  to  the 
movements  of  the  family,  the"  horderers  were  seri 
ously  urged  to  pursue  their  previous  intentions  of 
thoroughly  examining  the  woods.  The  dwelling 
was  accordingly  intrusted,  under  the  orders  of  the 
Puritan,  to  the  keeping  of  about  half  the  laborers, 
assisted  by  the  Europeans,  who  clung  with  instinctive 
attachment  to  the  possession  of  the  block-house; 
their  leader  repeatedly  and  rightly  enough  declaring 
that  though  ready  at  all  times  to  risk  life  on  a  plain, 
he  had  an  unconquerable  distaste  to  putting  it  in 
jeopardy  in  a  thicket.  Attended  by  Eben  Dudley, 
Reuben  Ring,  and  two  other  stout  youths,  all  well 
though  lightly  armed,  Content  then  left  the  pali- 
sadoes,  and  took  his  way  towards  the  forest.  They 
entered  the  woods  at  the  nearest  point,  always 
marching  with  the  caution  and  vigilance  that  a 
sense  of  the  true  nature  of  the  risk  they  ran  would 
inspire,  and  much  practice  only  could  properly 
direct. 

The  manner  of  the  search  was  as  simple  as  it 
was  likely  to  prove  effectual.  The  scouts  com 
menced  a  circuit  around  the  clearing,  extending 
their  line  as  far  as  might  be  done  without  cutting 
off  support,  and  each  man  lending- his  senses  atten 
tively  to  the  signs  of  the  trail,  or  of  the  lairs,  of 
those  dangerous  enemies,  who  they  had  reason  to 
think  were  outlying  in  their  neighborhood.  But, 
like  the  recent  search  in  the  buildings,  the  scouting 
was  for  a  long  time  attended  by  no  results.  Many 
weary  miles  were  passed  slowly  over,  and  more 
than  half  their  task  was  ended,  and  no  sign  of  being 
having  life  was  met,  except  the  very  visible  trail 
of  their  four  guests,  and  the  tracks  of  a  single 
horse  along  the  path  leading  to  the  settlements 
from  the  quarter  by  which  the  visiter  of  the 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  99 

previous  night  had  been  known  to  approach.  No 
comments  were  made  by  any  of  the  party,  as  each 
in  succession  struck  and  crossed  this  path,  nearly  at 
the  same  instant ;  but  a  low  call  from  Reuben  Ring 
which  soon  after  met  their  ears,  caused  them  to  as 
semble  in  a  body  at  the  spot  whence  the  summons 
had  proceeded. 

"  Here  are  signs  of  one  passing  from  the  clear 
ing,"  said  the  quick-eyed  woodsman,  "  and  of  one 
too  that  is  not  numbered  among  the  family  of  Wish- 
Ton-Wish  ;  since  his  beast  hath  had  a  shodden  hoof, 
a  mark  which  belongeth  to  no  animal  of  ours." 

"We  will  follow,"  said  Content,  immediately 
striking  in  upon  a  straggling  trail,  that  by  many  un 
equivocal  signs  had  been  left  by  some  animal  which 
had  passed  that  way  not  many  hours  before.  Their 
search,  however,  soon  grew  to  a  close.  Ere  they 
had  gone  any  great  distance,  they  came  upon  the 
half-demolished  carcass  of  a  dead  horse.  There 
was  no  mistaking  the  proprietor  of  this  unfortunate 
animal.  Though  some  beast,  or  rather  beasts  of 
prey,  had  fed  plentifully  on  the  body,  which  was 
still  fresh  and  had  scarcely  yet  done  bleeding,  it 
was  plain,  by  the  remains  of  the  torn  equipments, 
as  well  as  by  the  color  and  size  of  the  animal,  that 
it  was  no  other  than  the  hack  ridden  by  the  un 
known  and  mysterious  guest,  who,  after  sharing  in 
the  worship  and  in  the  evening  meal  of  the  family 
of  the  Wish-Ton-Wish,  had  so  strangely  and  so  sud 
denly  disappeared.  The  leathern  sack,  the  weapons 
which  had  so  singularly  riveted  the  gaze  of  old 
Mark,  and  indeed  all  but  the  carcass  and  a  ruined 
saddle,  were  gone ;  but  what  was  left,  sufficiently 
served  to  identify  the  animal. 

"  Here  has  been  the  tooth  of  wolf, '  said  Eben 
Dudley,  stooping  to  examine  into  the  nature  of  a 
ragged  wound  in  the  neck;  "and  here,  too,  has 


100  THE    WEPT 

been  cut  of  knife;  but  whether  by  tbe  hand  of  a 
red  skin,  it  exceedeth  my  art  to  say." 

Each  individual  of  the  party  now  bent  curiously 
over  the  wound ;  but  the  results  of  their  inquiries 
went  no  further  than  to  prove  that  it  was  undenia 
bly  the  horse  of  the  stranger,  that  had  forfeited  its 
life.  To  the  fate  of  its  master,  however,  there  was 
not  the  slightest  clue.  Abandoning  the  investiga 
tion,  after  a  long  and  fruitless  examination,  they 
proceeded  to  finish  the  circuit  of  the  clearing. 
Night  had  approached  ere  the  fatiguing  task  was 
accomplished.  As  Ruth  stood  at  the  postern  wait 
ing  anxiously  for  their  return,  she  saw  by  the  coun 
tenance  of  lier  husband,  that  while  nothing  had 
transpired  to  give  any  grounds  of  additional  alarm, 
no  satisfactory  testimony  had  been  obtained  to  ex 
plain  the  nature  of  the  painful  doubts,  with  which, 
as  a  tender  and  sensitive  mother,  she  had  been  dis 
tressed  throughout  the  day. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

"  Is  there  not  milking-time, 
When  you  go  to  bed,  or  kiln-hole, 
To  whistle  off  these  secrets ;  but  you  must  be 
Tattling  before  all  our  guests?" 

WINTER'S  TALE. 

LONG  experience  hath  shown  that  the  white 
man,  when  placed  in  situations  to  acquire  such 
knowledge,  readily  becomes  the  master  of  most  of 
that  peculiar  skill  for  which  the  North  American 
Indian  is  so  remarkable,  and  which  enables  him, 
among  other  things,  to  detect  the  signs  of  a  forest 
trail,  with  a  quickness  and  an  accuracy  of  intelli 
gence  that  amount  nearly  to  an  instinct.  The  fears 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  101 

of  the  family  were  therefore  greatly  quieted  hy 
the  reports  of  the  scouts,  all  of  whom  agreed  in 
the  opinion  that  no  party  of  savages,  that  could  be 
at  all  dangerous  to  a  force  like  their  own,  was  lying 
near  the  valley ;  and  some  of  whom,  the  loudest  of 
which  number  being  stout  Eben  Dudley,  boldly 
offered  to  answer  for  the  security  of  those  who 
depended  on  their  vigilance,  with  their  own  lives 
These  assurances  had,  beyond  a  doubt,  a  soothing 
influence  on  the  apprehensions  of  Ruth  and  her 
handmaidens;  but  they  somewhat  failed  of  their 
effect,  with  those  unwelcome  visiters  who  still  con 
tinued  to  cumber  Wish-Ton-Wish  with  their  pres 
ence.  Though  they  had  evidently  abandoned  all 
ideas  connected  with  the  original  object  of  their 
visit,  they  spoke  not  of  departure.  On  the  contrary 
as  night  approached,  their  chief  entered  into  coun 
cil  with  old  Mark  Heathcote,  and  made  certain 
propositions  for  the  security  of  his  dwelling,  which 
the  Puritan  saw  no  reason  to  oppose. 

A  regular  watch  was,  in  consequence,  set,  and 
maintained  till  morning,  at  the  palisadoes.  The 
different  members  of  the  family  retired  to  their 
usual  places  of  rest,  tranquil  in  appearance,  if  not 
in  entire  confidence  of  peace;  and  the  military 
messengers  took  post  in  the  lower  of  the  two  fight 
ing  apartments  of  the  citadel.  With  this  simple, 
and  to  the  strangers  particularly  satisfactory  ar 
rangement,  the  hours  of  darkness  passed  away  in 
quiet ;  morning  returning  to  the  secluded  valley,  as 
it  had  so  often  done  before,  with  its  loveliness  unim 
paired  by  violence  or  tumult. 

In  the  same  peaceful  manner  did  the  sun  set  suc 
cessively  three  several  times,  and  as  often  did  it 
arise  on  the  abode  of  the  Heathcotes,  without  fur 
ther  sign  of  danger,  or  motive  of  alarm.  With  the 
passage  of  time,  the  agents  of  the  Stuart  gradually 
regained  their  confidence.  Still  they  never  neglect- 
9* 


102  THE  WEPT 

ed  to  withdraw  within  the  protection  of  the  block 
house  with  the  retiring  light;  a  post  which  the  sub 
ordinate  named  Hallam,  more  than  once  gravely 
observed,  they  were,  by  their  disciplined  and  mili 
tary  habits,  singularly  qualified  to  maintain.  Though 
the  Puritan  secretly  chafed  under  this  protracted 
visit,  habitual  self-denial,  and  a  manner  so  long  sub 
dued,  enabled  him  to  conceal  his  disgust.  For  the 
first  two  days  after  the  alarm,  the  deportment  of 
his  guests  was  unexceptionable.  All  their  faculties 
appeared  to  be  engrossed  with  keen  and  anxious 
watchings  of  the  forest,  out  of  which  it  would  seem 
they  expected  momentarily  to  see  issue  a  band  of 
ferocious  and  ruthless  savages :  but  symptoms  of  re 
turning  levity  began  to  be  apparent,  as  confidence 
and  a  feeling  of  security  increased,  with  the  quiet 
passage  of  the  hours. 

It  was  on  the  evening  of  the  third  day  from  that 
on  which  they  had  made  their  appearance  in  the 
settlement,  that  the  man  called  Hallam  was  seen 
strolling,  for  the  first  time,  through  the  postern  so 
often  named,  and  taking  a  direction  which  led  to 
wards  the  out-buildings.  His  air  was  less  distrust 
ful  than  it  had  been  for  many  a  weary  hour,  and 
his  step  proportionably  confident  and  assuming.  In 
stead  of  wearing,  as  he  had  been  wont,  a  pair  of 
heavy  horseman's  pistols  at  his  girdle,  he  had  even 
laid  aside  his  broadsword,  and  appeared  more  in  the 
guise  of  one  who  sought  his  personal  ease,  than  in 
that  cumbersome  and  martial  attire  which  all  of  his 
party,  until  now,  had  deemed  it  prudent  to  maintain. 
He  cast  his  glance  cursorily  over  the  fields  of  the 
Heathcotes,  as  they  glowed  under  the  soft  light  of 
a  setting  sun ;  nor  did  his  eye  even  refuse  to  wander 
vacantly  along  the  outline  of  that  forest,  which  his 
imagination  had  so  lately  been  peopling  with  beings 
of  a  fierce  and  ruthless  nature. 

The  hour  was  one  when  rustic  economy  brings  the 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  103 

labors  of  the  day  to  a  close.  Among  those  who  were 
more  than  usually  active  at  that  busy  moment,  was 
a  handmaiden  of  Ruth,  whose  clear  sweet  voice  was 
heard,  in  one  of  the  inclosures,  occasionally  rising 
on  the  notes  of  a  spiritual  song,  and  as  often  sinking 
to  a  nearly  inaudible  hum,  as  she  extracted  from  a 
favorite  animal  liberal  portions  of  its  nightly  trib 
ute  to  the  dairy  of  her  mistress.  To  that  inclosure 
the  stranger,  as  it  were  by  accident,  suffered  his 
sauntering  footsteps  to  stroll,  seemingly  as  much  in 
admiration  of  the  sleek  herd  as  of  any  other  of  its 
comely  tenants. 

"  From  what  thrush  hast  taken  lessons,  my  pretty 
maid,  that  I  mistook  thy  notes  for  one  of  the  sweet 
est  songsters  of  thy  woods  ?"  he  asked,  trusting  his 
person  to  the  support  of  the  pen  in  an  attitude  of 
easy  superiority.  "  One  might  fancy  it  a  robin,  or  a 
wren,  trolling  out  his  evening  song,  instead  of  hu 
man  voice  rising  and  falling  in  every-day  psalm 
ody." 

"  The  birds  of  our  forest  rarely  speak,"  returned 
the  girl ;  "  and  the  one  among  them  which  has 
most  to  say,  does  it  like  those  who  are  called  gentle 
men,  when  they  set  wit  to  work  to  please  the  ear 
of  simple  country  maidens." 

"  And  in  what  fashion  may  that  be  ?" 

"  Mockery." 

"  Ah !  I  have  heard  of  the  creature's  skill.  It  is 
said  to  be  a  compound  of  the  harmony  of  all  other 
forest  songsters;  and  yet  I  see  little  resemblance  to 
the  honest  language  of  a  soldier,  in  its  manner  of 
utterance." 

46  It  speaketh  without  much  meaning ;  and  oftener 
to  cheat  the  ear,  than  in  honest  reason." 

"  Thou  forgettest  that  wiiich  I  told  thee  in  the 
morning,  child.  It  would  seem  that  they  who  named 
thee,  have  no  great  cause  to  exult  in  their  judgment 


THE    WEPT 


104 

of  character,  since  Unbelief  would  better  describe 
thy  disposition,  than  Faith." 

"  It  may  be,  that  they  who  named  me  little  knew 
how  great  must  be  credulity,  to  give  ear  to  all  1 
have  been  required  to  credit." 

"  Thou  canst  have  no  difficulty  in  admitting  that 
thou  art  comely,  since  the  eye  itself  will  support 
thy  belief;  nor  can  one  of  so  quick  speech  fail  to 
know  that  her  wit  is  sharper  than  common.  Thus 
far,  I  admit,  the  name  of  Faith  will  not  surely  belie 
thy  character." 

"  If  Eben  Dudley  hear  thee  use  such  vanity -stir 
ring  discourse,"  returned  the  half-pleased  girl,  "  he 
might  give  thee  less  credit  for  wit  than  thou  seem- 
est  willing  to  yield  to  others.  I  hear  his  heavy  foot 
among  the  cattle,  and  ere  long  we  shall  be  sure  to 
see  a  face  that  hath  little  more  of  lightness  to 
boast." 

"  This  Eben  Dudley  is  a  personage  of  no  mean 
importance,  I  find !"  muttered  the  other,  continuing 
his  walk,  as  the  borderer  named  made  his  appear 
ance  at  another  entrance  of  the  pen.  The  glances 
exchanged  between  them  were  far  from  friendly, 
though  the  woodsman  permitted  the  stranger  to 
pass  without  any  oral  expression  of  displeasure. 

"The  skittish  heifer  is  getting  gentle  at  last,  Faith 
Ring,"  said  the  borderer,  casting  the  but  of  his 
musket  on  the  ground  with  a  violence  that  left  a 
deep  impression  on  the  faded  sward  at  his  feet. 
"That  brindled  ox,  old  Logger,  is  not  more  willing 
to  come  into  his  yoke,  than  is  the  four-year-old  to 
yield  her  milk." 

"  The  creature  has  been  getting  kind,  since  you 
taught  the  manner  to  tame  its  humor,"  returned 
the  dairy  girl,  in  a  voice  that,  spite  of  every  effort 
of  maiden  pride,  betrayed  something  of  the  flurry 
of  her  spirits,  while  she  plied  her  lis;ht  task  with 
violent  industry. 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  105 

44  Umph !  I  hope  some  other  of  my  teachings  may 
be  as  well  remembered ;  but  thou  art  quick  at  the 
trick  of  learning,  Faith,  as  is  plain  by  the  ready 
manner  in  which  thou  hast  so  shortly  got  the  habit 
of  discourse  with  a  man  as  nimble-tongued  as  yon 
riding  reprobate  from  over  sea." 

"  I  hope  that  civil  listening  is  no  proof  of  unseem 
ly  discourse  on  the  part  of  one  who  hath  been  train 
ed  in  modesty  of  speech,  Eben  Dudley.  Thou  hast 
often  said,  it  was  the  bounden  duty  of  her  who  was 
spoken  to,  to  give  ear,  lest  some  might  say  she  was 
of  scornful  mind,  and  her  name  for  pride  be  better 
earned  than  that  for  good-nature." 

"I  see  that  more  of  my  lessons  than  I  had  hoped 
are  still  in  thy  keeping.  So  thou  listenest  thus  read 
ily,  Faith,  because  it  is  meet  that  a  maiden  should 
not  be  scornful !" 

"Thou  sayest  so.  Whatever  ill  name  I  may  de 
serve,  thou  hast  no  right  to  count  scorn  among  my 
failings." 

"If  I  do,  may  I "  Eben  Dudley  bit  his  lip, 

and  checked  an  expression  which  would  have  given 
grievous  offence  to  one  whose  habits  of  decency 
were  as  severe  as  those  of  his  companion.  "  Thou 
must  have  heard  much  that  was  profitable  to-day, 
Faith  Ring,"  he  added,  "  considering  that  thy  ear 
is  so  open,  and  that  thy  opportunities  have  been 
great." 

"  I  know  not  what  thou  wouldst  say  by  speaking 
of  my  opportunities,"  returned  the  girl,  bending 
still  lower  beneath  the  object  of  her  industry,  in 
order  to  conceal  the  glow  which  her  own  quick 
consciousness  told  her  was  burning  on  her  cheek. 

"  I  would  say  that  the  tale  must  be  long,  that 
needeth  four  several  trials  of  private  speech  to  fin- 
ish." 

"  Four!  as  I  hope  to  be  believed  for  a  girl  of  truth 
in  speech  or  deed,  this  is  but  the  third  time  that  the 


106  THE  WEPT 

stranger  hath  spoken  to  me  apart,  since  the  sun  hath 
risen." 

"  If  I  know  the  number  of  the  fingers  of  my  hand? 
it  is  the  fourth !" 

"  Nay,  how  canst  thou,  Eben  Dudley,  who  hast 
been  afield  since  the  crowing  of  the  cock,  know 
what  hath  passed  about  the  dwellings  ?  It  is  plain 
that  envy,  or  some  other  evil  passion,  causeth  thee 
to  speak  angrily." 

"  How  is  it  that  I  know !  perhaps  thou  thinkesi 
Faith,  thy  brother  Reuben,  only,  hath  the  gift  of 
sight." 

"  The  labor  must  have  gone  on  with  great  profit 
to  the  Captain,  whilst  eyes  have  been  roving  over 
other  matters  !  But  perhaps  they  kept  the  strong  of 
arm  for  the  lookers-out,  and  have  set  them  of  feebler 
bodies  to  the  toil." 

"  I  have  not  been  so  careless  of  thy  life  as  to 
forget,  at  passing  moments,  to  cast  an  eye  abroad, 
pert-one.  Whatever  thou  mayst  think  of  the  need, 
there  would  be  fine  wailings  in  the  butteries  and 
dairies,  did  the  Wampanoags  get  into  the  clearing, 
and  were  there  none  to  give  the  alarm  in  season." 

"  Truly,  Eben,  thy  terror  of  the  child  in  the 
block  must  be  grievous  for  one  of  thy  manhood, 
else  wouldst  thou  not  watch  the  buildings  so  nar 
rowly,"  retorted  Faith,  laughing ;  for  with  the  dex- 
terty  of  her  sex,  she  began  to  feel  the  superiority 
she  was  gradually  obtaining  in  the  discourse.  "  Thou 
dost  not  remember  that  we  have  valiant  troopers, 
from  old  England,  to  keep  the  younker  from  doing 
harm.  But  here  cometh  the  brave  soldier  himself: 
it  will  be  well  to  ask  vigilance  at  his  hands,  or  this 
night  may  bring  us  to  the  tomahawk  in  our  sleep !" 
'  Thou  speakest  of  the  weapon  of  the  savages!" 
said  the  messenger,  who  had  drawn  near  again  with 
a  visible  willingness  to  share  in  an  interview  which, 
while  he  had  watched  its  progress  at  a  distance, 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  107 

appeared  to  be  growing  interesting.  "I  trust  all 
fear  is  over,  from  that  quarter." 

"  As  you  say,  for  this  quarter,"  said  Eben,  adjust 
ing  his  lips  to  a  low  whistle,  and  coolly  looking  up 
to  examine  the  heavenly  body  to  which  he  meant 
allusion.  "  But  the  next  quarter  may  bring  us  a 
pretty  piece  of  Indian  skirmishing." 

"  And  what  hath  the  moon  in  common  with  an 
incursion  of  the  savages  ?  Are  there  those  among 
them,  who  study  the  secrets  of  the  stars?" 

"  They  study  deviltries  and  other  wickedness, 
more  than  aught  else.  It  is  not  easy  for  the  mind 
of  man  to  fancy  horrors  such  as  they  design,  when 
Providence  has  given  them  success  in  an  inroad." 

"  But  thou  didst  speak  of  the  moon !  In  what 
manner  is  the  moon  leagued  with  their  bloody 
plots?" 

"  We  have  her  now  in  the  full,  and  there  is  little 
of  the  night  when  the  eye  of  a  watcher  might  not 
see  a  red  skin  in  the  clearing ;  but  a  different  tale 
may  be  heard,  when  an  hour  or  two  of  jet  darkness 
shall  again  fall  among  these  woods.  There  will  be 
a  change  shortly;  it  behoveth  us  therefore  to  be  on 
our  guard." 

"  Thou  thinkest  then,  truly,  that  there  are  out- 
lyers  waiting  for  the  fitting  moment?"  said  the  of 
ficer,  with  an  interest  so  marked  as  to  cause  even 
the  but-half-pacified  Faith  to  glance  an  arch  look 
at  her  companion,  though  he  still  had  reason  to  dis 
trust  a  wilful  expression  that  lurked  in  the  corner 
of  her  eyes,  which  threatened  at  each  moment  to 
contradict  his  relation  of  the  sinister  omens. 

"  There  may  be  savages  lying  in  the  hills,  at  a 
day's  journey  in  the  forest ;  but  they  know  the  aim 
of  a  white  man's  musket  too  well,  to  be  sleeping 
within  reach  of  its  range.  It  is  the  nature  of  an 
Indian  to  eat  and  sleep  while  he  has  time  for  quiet, 


108  THE    WEPT 

and  to  fast  and  murder  when  the  killing  hour  hath 
come." 

"  And  what  call  you  the  distance  to  the  nearest 
settlement  on  the  Connecticut?"  demanded  the  other 
with  an  air  so  studiously  indifferent  as  to  furnish  an 
easy  clue  to  the  inner  workings  of  his  mind. 

"  Some  twenty  hours  would  bring  a  nimble  runner 
to  the  outer  habitations,  granting  small  time  for  food 
and  rest.  He  that  is  wise,  however,  will  take  but 
little  of  the  latter,  until  his  head  be  safely  housed 
within  some  such  building  as  yon  block,  or  until  there 
shall  stand  between  him  and  the  forest  at  least  a 
goodly  row  of  oaken  pickets." 

"  There  is  no  path  ridden  by  which  travellers  may 
avoid  the  forest  during  the  darkness  ?" 

"  I  know  of  none.  He  who  quits  Wish-Ton-Wish 
for  the  towns  below,  must  make  his  pillow  of  the 
earth,  or  be  fain  to  ride  as  long  as  beast  can  carry." 

"  We  have  truly  had  experience  of  this  necessity, 
journeying  hither.  Thou  thinkest,  friend,  the  sav 
ages  are  in  their  resting  time,  and  that  they  wait 
the  coming  quarter  of  the  moon  ?" 

"  To  my  seeming,  we  shall  not  have  them  sooner, 
returned  Eben  Dudley ;  taking  care  to  conceal  all 
qualification  of  this  opinion,  if  any  such  he  enter 
tained,  by  closely  locking  its  purport  in  a  mental 
reservation. 

"  And  what  season  is  it  usual  to  choose  for  getting 
into  the  saddle,  when  business  calls  any  to  the  set 
tlements  below  ?" 

"  We  never  fail  to  take  our  departure  about  the 
time  the  sun  touches  the  tall  pine,  which  stands  on 
yonder  height  of  the  mountain.  Much  experience 
hath  told  us  it  is  the  safest  hour;  hand  of  time-piece 
is  not  more  sure  than  yon  tree." 

"I  like  the  night,"  said  the  other,  looking  about 
him  with  the  air  of  one  suddenly  struck  with  the 
promising  appearance  of  the  weather.  "  The  black* 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  109 

ness  no  longer  hangs  about  the  forest,  and  it  seems 
a  fitting  moment  to  push  the  matter,  on  which  we 
are  sent,  nearer  to  its  conclusion." 

So  saying,  and  probably  believing  that  he  had 
sufficiently  concealed  the  motive  of  his  decision,  the 
uneasy  dragoon  walked  with  an  air  of  soldierly  cool 
ness  towards  the  dwellings,  signing  at  the  same  time 
to  one  of  his  companions,  who  was  regarding  him 
from  a  distance,  to  approach. 

"  Now  dost  thou  believe,  witless  Dudley,  that  the 
four  fingers  of  thy  clumsy  hand  have  numbered  the 
full  amount  of  all  that  thou  callest  my  listenings?" 
said  Faith,  when  she  thought  no  other  ear  but  his 
to  whom  she  spoke  could  catch  her  words,  and  at 
the  same  time  laughing  merrily  beneath  her  heifer, 
though  still  speaking  with  a  vexation  she  could  not 
entirely  repress. 

"  Have  I  spoken  aught  but  truth  ?  It  is  not  for 
such  as  I  to  give  lessons  in  journeying,  to  one  who 
follows  the  honest  trade  of  a  man-hunter.  I  have 
said  that  which  all  who  dwell  in  these  parts  know 
to  be  reasonable." 

"  Surely  nought  else.  But  truth  is  made  so  power 
ful  in  thy  hands,  that  it  needs  be  taken,  like  a  bitter 
healing  draught,  with  closed  eyes  and  at  many 
swallows.  One  who  drinketh  of  it  too  freely,  may 
well-nigh  be  strangled.  I  marvel  that  he  who  is  so 
vigilant  in  providing  for  the  cares  of  others,  should 
take  so  little  heed  of  those  he  is  set  to  guard." 

"I  know  not  thy  meaning,  Faith.  When  was 
danger  near  the  valley,  and  my  musket  wanting  V1 

"  The  good  piece  is  truer  to  duty  than  its  master. 
Thou  mayest  have  lawful  license  to  sleep  on  thy 
post,  for  we  maidens  know  nothing  of  the  pleasure 
of  the  Captain  in  these  matters;  but  it  would  be 
as  seemly,  if  not  as  soldierly,  to  place  the  arms  at 
the  postern  and  thyself  in  the  chambers,  when 
10 


110  THE    WEPT 

next  thou  hast  need  of  watching  and  sleeping  in 
the  same  hour." 

Dudley  looked  as  confused  as  one  of  his  mould 
and  unbending  temperament  might  well  be,  though 
he  stubbornly  refused  to  understand  the  allusion  of 
his  offended  companion. 

"  Thou  hast  not  discussed  with  the  trooper  from 
over  sea  in  vain,"  he  said,  "  since  thou  speakest 
so  wisely  of  watches  and  arms." 

"Truly  he  hath  much  schooled  me  in  the  matter." 

"  Umph !  and  what  may  be  the  amount  of  his 
teaching  ?" 

"That  he  who  sleepeth  at  a  postern  should 
neither  talk  too  boldly  of  the  enemy,  nor  expect 
maidens  to  put  too  much  trust " 

"In  what,  Faith?" 

"  Thou  surely  knowest  I  mean  in  his  watchful 
ness.  My  life  on  it,  had  one  happened  to  pass  at  a 
later  hour  than  common  near  the  night-post  of  that 
gentle-spoken  soldier,  he  would  not  have  been  found, 
like  a  sentinel  of  this  household,  in  the  second  watch 
of  the  night  that  is  gone,  dreaming  of  the  good 
things  of  the  Madam's  buttery." 

"  Didst  truly  come  then,  girl  ?"  said  Eben,  drop 
ping  his  voice,  and  equally  manifesting  his  satisfac 
tion  and  his  shame.  "  But  thou  knowest,  Faith,  that 
the  labor  had  fallen  behind  in  behalf  of  the  scout 
ing  party,  and  that  the  toil  of  yesterday  exceeded 
that  of  our  usual  burthens.  Nevertheless,  I  keep 
the  postern  again  to-night,  from  eight  to  twelve, 
and " 

"  Will  make  a  goodly  rest  of  it,  I  doubt  not.  No 
he  who  hath  been  so  vigilant  throughout  the  day 
must  needs  tire  of  the  task  as  night  draws  on. 
Fare  thee  well,  wakeful  Dudley;  if  thine  eyes 
should  open  on  the  morrow,  be  thankful  that  the 
maidens  have  not  stitched  thy  garments  to  the 
palisadoes  ? ' 


OF    WISH-TON-VViSH.  Ill 

Notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  the  young  man  to 
detain  her,  the  light-footed  girl  eluded  his  grasp , 
and,  bearing  her  burden  towards  the  dairy,  she 
tripped  along  the  path  with  a  half-averted  face, 
in  which  triumph  and  repentance  were  already 
struggling  for  the  possession. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  leader  of  the  messengers 
and  his  military  subordinate  had  a  long  and  inter 
esting  conference.  When  it  was  ended,  the  former 
took  his  way  to  the  apartment  in  which  Mark 
Heathcote  was  wont  to  pass  those  portions  of  his 
time  that  were  not  occupied  in  his  secret  strivings 
for  the  faith,  or  in  exercise  without,  while  superin 
tending  the  laborers  in  the  fields.  With  some  little 
circumlocution,  which  was  intended  to  mask  his 
real  motives,  the  agent  of  the  King  announced  his 
intention  to  take  his  final  departure  that  very 
night. 

"  I  felt  it  a  duty,  as  one  who  has  gained  expe 
rience  in  arms  by  some  practice  in  the  wars  of 
Europe,"  he  said,  "  to  tarry  in  thy  dwelling  while 
danger  threatened  from  the  lurking  savage.  It 
would  ill  become  soldiers  to  speak  of  their  inten 
tions  ;  but  had  the  alarm  in  truth  sounded,  thou 
wilt  give  faith,  when  I  say  that  the  block-house 
would  not  have  been  lightly  yielded !  I  shall  make 
report  to  them  that  sent  me,  that  in  Captain  Mark 
Heathcote,  Charles  hath  a  loyal  subject,  and  the 
Constitution  a  firm  supporter.  The  rumors,  of  a 
seemingly  mistaken  description,  which  have  led  us 
hither,  shall  be  contradicted ;  and  doubtless  it  will 
be  found,  that  some  accident  hath  gi^en  rise  to  the 
deception.  Should  there  be  occasion  to  dwell  on  the 
particulars  of  the  late  alarm,  I  trust  the  readiness 
of  my  followers  to  do  good  service  to  one  of  the 
King's  subjects  will  not  be  overlooked." 

"  It  is  the  striving  of  an  humble  spirit  to  speak 
nought  evil  of  its  fellows,  and  to  conceal  no  good." 


112  THE    WEPT 

returned  the  reserved  Puritan.  *«lf  thou  hast  found 
thy  abode  in  my  dwelling  to  thy  liking,  thou  art 
welcome ;  and  if  duty  or  pleasure  calleth  thee  to 
quit  it,  peace  go  with  thee.  It  will  be  useful  to 
unite  with  us  in  asking  that  thy  passage  through 
the  wilderness  may  be  unharmed ;  that  he  who 
watcheth  over  the  meanest  of  his  creatures  should 
take  thee  in  his  especial  keeping,  and  that  the 
savage  heathen " 

"  Dost  think  the  savage  out  of  his  villages  ?"  de 
manded  the  messenger,  with  an  indecorous  rapidity, 
that  cut  short  the  enumeration  of  the  particular 
blessings  and  dangers  that  his  host  thought  it  meet 
to  include  in  the  leave-taking  prayer. 

"  Thou  surely  hast  not  tarried  with  us  to  aid 
in  the  defence,  and  yet  feel  it  doubtful  that  thy 
services  might  be  useful !"  observed  Mark  Heath- 
cote,  drily. 

"  I  would  the  Prince  of  Darkness  had  thee  and 
all  the  other  diabolicals  of  these  woods  in  his  own 
good  gripe !"  muttered  the  messenger  between  his 
teeth ;  and  then,  as  if  guided  by  a  spirit  that  could 
not  long  be  quelled,  he  assumed  something  more  of 
his  unbridled  and  natural  air,  boldly  declining  to 
join  in  the  prayer  on  the  plea  of  haste,  and  the 
necessity  of  his  looking  in  person  to  the  movements 
of  his  followers.  "  But  this  need  not  prevent  thee, 
worthy  Captain,  from  pouring  out  an  asking  in  our 
behalf,  while  we  are  in  the  saddle,"  he  concluded ; 
"  for  ourselves,  there  remaineth  much  of  thy  previ 
ously-bestowed  pious  aliment  to  be  digested;  though 
we  doubt  not,  that  should  thy  voice  be  raised  in 
our  behalf,  while  journeying  along  the  first  few 
leagues  of  the  forest,  the  tread  of  the  hacks  would 
not  be  heavier,  and,  it  is  certainty,  that  we  our 
selves  should  be  none  the  worse  for  the  favor." 

Then  casting  a  glance  of  ill-concealed  levity  at 
one  of  his  followers,  who  had  come  to  say  that 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  113 

their  steeds  awaited,  he  made  the  parting  saluta 
tion  with  an  air,  in  which  the  respect  that  one  like 
the  Puritan  could  scarce  fail  to  excite,  struggled 
with  his  habitual  contempt  for  things  of  a  serious 
character. 

The  family  of  Mark  Heathcote,  the  lowest  de 
pendant  included,  saw  these  strangers  depart  with 
great  inward  satisfaction.  Even  the  maidens,  in 
whom  nature,  in  moments  weaker  than  common, 
had  awakened  some  of  the  lighter  vanities,  were 
gladly  rid  of  gallants,  who  could  not  soothe  their 
ears  with  the  unction  of  flattery,  without  frequently 
giving  great  offence  to  their  severe  principles,  by 
light  and  irreverent  allusions  to  things  on  which 
they  themselves  were  accustomed  to  think  with 
fitting  awe.  Eben  Dudley  could  scarcely  conceal 
the  chuckle  with  which  he  saw  the  party  bury  them 
selves  in  the  forest,  though  neither  he,  nor  any  of 
the  more  instructed  in  such  matters,  believed  they 
incurred  serious  risk  from  their  sudden  enterprise. 

The  opinions  of  the  scouts  proved  to  be  founded 
on  accurate  premises.  That  and  many  a  subsequent 
night  passed  without  alarm.  The  season  continued 
to  advance,  and  the  laborers  pursued  their  toil  to 
its  close,  without  another  appeal  to  their  courage, 
or  any  additional  reasons  for  vigilance.  Whittal 
Ring  followed  his  colts  with  impunity,  among  the 
recesses  of  the  neighboring  forests ;  and  the  herds 
of  the  family  went  and  came,  as  long  as  the  weather 
would  permit  them  to  range  the  woods,  in  regularity 
and  peace.  The  period  of  the  alarm,  and  the  visit 
of  the  agents  of  the  Crown,  came  to  be  food  for 
tradition;  and  during  the  succeeding  winter,  the 
former  often  furnished  motive  of  merriment  around 
the  blazing  fires  that  were  so  necessary  to  the 
country  and  the  season. 

Still  there  existed  in  the  family  a  living  memorial 
of  the  unusual  incidents  of  that  night.  The  captive 
10* 


114  THE  WEPT 

remained,  long  after  the  events  which  had  placed 
him  in  the  power  of  the  Heathcotes  were  beginning 
to  be  forgotten. 

A  desire  to  quicken  the  seeds  of  spiritual  regene 
ration,  which,  however  dormant  they  might  be,  old 
Mark  Heathcote  believed  to  exist  in  the  whole 
family  of  man,  and  consequently  in  the  young 
heathen  as  well  as  in  others,  had  become  a  sort  of 
ruling  passion  in  the  Puritan.  The  fashions  and 
mode  of  thinking  of  the  times  had  a  strong  leaning 
towards  superstition ;  and  it  was  far  from  difficult 
for  a  man  of  his  ascetic  habits  and  exaggerated 
doctrines,  to  believe  that  a  special  interposition  had 
cast  the  boy  into  his  hands,  for  some  hidden  but 
mighty  purpose,  that  time  in  the  good  season  would 
not  fail  to  reveal. 

Notwithstanding  the  strong  coloring  of  fanaticism 
which  tinged  the  characters  of  the  religionists  of 
those  days,  they  were  rarely  wanting  in  worldly 
discretion.  The  agents  they  saw  fit  to  employ,  in 
order  to  aid  the  more  hidden  purposes  of  Providence, 
were  in  common  useful  and  rational.  Thus,  while 
Mark  never  forgot  to  summon  the  lad  from  his 
prison  at  the  hour  of  prayer,  or  to  include  an 
especial  asking  in  behalf  of  the  ignorant  heathen 
in  general  and  of  this  chosen  youth  in  particular,  he 
hesitated  to  believe  that  a  manifest  miracle  would 
be  exerted  in  his  favor.  That  no  blame  might  attach 
to  the  portion  of  duty  that  was  confided  to  human 
means,  he  had  recourse  to  the  discreet  agency  of 
kindness  and  unremitted  care.  But  all  attempts  to 
lure  the  lad  into  the  habits  of  a  civilized  man,  were 
completely  unsuccessful.  As  the  severity  of  the 
weather  increased,  the  compassionate  and  thought 
ful  Ruth  endeavored  to  induce  him  to  adopt  the 
garments  that  were  found  so  necessary  to  the  com 
fort  of  men  who  were  greatly  his  superiors  in  hardi 
hood  and  in  strength.  Clothes,  decorated  in  a  fashion 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  115 

suited  to  the  taste  of  an  Indian,  were  considerately 
provided,  and  entreaties  and  threats  were  both  free 
ly  used,  with  a  view  to  make  the  captive  wear  them. 
On  one  occasion,  he  was  even  forcibly  clad  by  Eben 
Dudley ;  and  being  brought,  in  the  unwonted  guise, 
into  the  presence  of  old  Mark,  the  latter  offered 
up  an  especial  petition  that  the  youth  might  be 
made  to  feel  the  merits  of  this  concession  to  the 
principles  of  a  chastened  and  instructed  man.  But 
within  an  hour,  the  stout  woodsman,  who  had  been 
made  on  the  occasion  so  active  an  instrument  of 
civilization,  announced  to  the  admiring  Faith  that 
the  experiment  was  unsuccessful;  or,  as  Eben  some 
what  irreverently  described  the  extraordinary  ef 
fort  of  the  Puritan,  "  the  heathen  hath  already  re 
sumed  his  skin  leggings  and  painted  waist-cloth,  not 
withstanding  the  Captain  has  strove  to  pin  better 
garments  on  his  back,  by  virtue  of  a  prayer  that 
might  have  clothed  the  nakedness  of  a  whole  tribe/' 
In  short,  the  result  proved,  in  the  case  of  this  lad, 
as  similar  experiments  have  since  proved  in  so  many 
other  instances,  tne  difficulty  of  tempting  one  train 
ed  in  the  freedom  and  ease  of  a  savage,  to  consent 
to  admit  of  the  restraints  of  a  state  of  being  that 
is  commonly  thought  to  be  so  much  superior.  In 
every  instance  in  which  the  youthful  captive  had 
liberty  of  choice,  he  disdainfully  rejected  the  cus 
toms  of  the  whites ;  adhering  with  a  singular,  and 
almost  heroic  pertinacity  to  the  usages  of  his  people 
and  his  condition. 

The  boy  was  not  kept  in  his  bondage  without  ex 
traordinary  care.  Once,  when  trusted  in  the  fields, 
he  had  openly  attempted  to  escape ;  nor  was  the 
possession  of  his  person  recovered  without  putting 
the  speed  of  Eben  Dudley  and  Reuben  Ring  to  a 
more  severe  trial,  as  was  confessed  by  the  athletic 
young  borderers  themselves,  than  any  they  had 
hitherto  undergone.  From  that  moment,  he  was 


116  THE    WEPT 

never  permitted  to  pass  the  palisadoes.  When  duty 
called  the  laborers  afield,  the  captive  was  invariably 
secured  in  his  prison,  where,  as  some  compensation 
for  his  confinement,  he  was  supposed  to  enjoy  the 
benefit  of  long  and  familiar  communication  with 
Mark  Heathcote,  who  had  the  habit  of  passing 
many  hours  of  each  day,  and,  not  unfrequently, 
long  portions  of  the  night,  too,  within  the  retire 
ment  of  the  block-house.  During  the  time  only 
when  the  gates  were  closed,  or  when  some  one  of 
strength  and  activity  sufficient  to  control  his  move 
ments  was  present,  was  the  lad  permitted  to  stroll, 
at  will,  among  the  buildings  of  the  border  fortress. 
This  liberty  he  never  failed  to  exercise,  and  often 
in  a  manner  that  overcame  the  affectionate  Ruth 
with  a  painful  excess  of  sensibility. 

Instead  of  joining  in  the  play  of  the  other  chil 
dren,  the  young  captive  would  stand  aloof,  and  re 
gard  their  sports  with  a  vacant  eye,  or,  drawing 
near  to  the  palisadoes,  he  often  passed  hours  in 
gazing  wistfully  at  those  endless  forests  in  which  he 
first  drew  breath,  and  which  probably  contained  all 
that  was  most  prized  in  the  estimation  of  his  simple 
judgment.  Ruth,  touched  to  the  heart  by  this  silent 
but  expressive  exhibition  of  suffering,  endeavored 
in  vain  to  win  his  confidence,  with  a  view  of  enticing 
him  into  employments  that  might  serve  to  relieve 
his  care.  The  resolute  but  still  quiet  boy  would  not 
be  lured  into  a  forgetfulness  of  his  origin.  He  ap 
peared  to  comprehend  the  kind  intentions  of  his 
gentle  mistress,  and  frequently  he  even  suffered 
himself  to  be  led  by  the  mother  into  the  centre  of 
her  own  joyous  and  merry  offspring;  but  it  was 
only  to  look  upon  their  amusements  with  his  former 
cold  air,  and  to  return,  at  the  first  opportunity,  to 
his  beloved  site  at  the  pickets.  Still  there  were 
singular  and  even  mysterious  evidences  of  a  growing 
consciousness  of  the  nature  of  the  discourse  of  which 


OF    WISH-TOPT-WISH  117 

he  was  occasionally  an  auditor,  that  would  have  be 
trayed  greater  familiarity  with  the  language  and 
opinions  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley,  than  his 
known  origin  and  his  absolute  withdrawal  from  com 
munication  could  give  reason  to  expect.  This  im 
portant  and  inexplicable  fact  was  proved  by  the 
frequent  and  meaning  glances  of  his  dark  eye,  when 
aught  was  uttered  in  his  hearing  that  affected,  ever 
so  remotely,  his  own  condition ;  and,  once  or  twice, 
by  the  haughty  gleamirigs  of  ferocity  that  escaped 
him,  when  Eben  Dudley  was  heard  to  vaunt  the 
prowess  of  the  white  men  in  their  encounters  with 
the  original  owners  of  the  country.  The  Puritan 
did  not  fail  to  note  these  symptoms  of  a  budding  in- 
tei'ligence,  as  the  pledges  of  a  fruit  that  would  more 
than  reward  his  pious  toil ;  and  they  served  to  fur 
nish  a  great  relief  to  certain  occasional  repugnance, 
which  all  his  zeal  could  not  entirely  subdue,  at  be 
ing  the  instrument  of  causing  so  much  suffering  to 
one  who,  after  all,  had  inflicted  no  positive  wrong 
on  himself. 

At  the  period  of  which  we  are  writing,  the  climate 
of  these  States  differed  materially  from  that  which 
is  now  known  to  their  inhabitants.  A  winter  in 
the  Province  of  Connecticut  was  attended  by  many 
successive  falls  of  snow,  until  the  earth  was  entirely 
covered  with  firmly  compressed  masses  of  the  frozen 
element.  Occasional  thaws  and  passing  storms  of 
rain,  that  were  driven  away  by  a  return  of  the  clear 
and  cutting  cold  of  the  north-western  gales,  were 
wpnt  at  times  to  lay  a  covering  on  the  ground,  that 
was  congealed  to  the  consistency  of  ice,  until  men, 
and  not  unfrequently  beasts,  and  sometimes  sleighs, 
were  seen  moving  on  its  surface,  as  on  the  bed  of  a 
frozen  lake.  During  the  extremity  of  a  season  like 
this,  the  hardy  borderers,  who  could  not  toil  in  their 
customary  pursuits,  were  wont  to  range  the  forest 
in  quest  of  game,  which,  driven  for  food  to  known 


118  THE    WEPT 

resorting  places  in  the  woods,  then  fell  most  easily  a 
prey  to  the  intelligence  and  skill  of  such  men  as 
Eben  Dudley  and  Reuben  Ring. 

The  youths  never  left  the  dwellings  on  these 
nunts,  without  exciting  the  most  touching  interest 
in  their  movements,  on  the  part  of  the  Indian  boy. 
On  all  such  occasions,  he  would  linger  at  the  loops 
of  his  prison  throughout  the  day,  listening  intently 
to  the  reports  of  the  distant  muskets,  as  they  re 
sounded  in  the  forest ;  and  the  only  time,  during  a 
captivity  of  so  many  months,  that  he  was  ever  seen 
to  smile,  was  when  he  examined  the  grim  look  and 
muscular  claws  of  a  dead  panther,  that  had  fallen 
beneath  the  aim  of  Dudley,  in  one  of  these  excur 
sions  to  the  mountains.  The  compassion  of  all  the 
borderers  was  powerfully  awakened  in  behalf  of 
the  patient  and  dignified  young  sufferer,  and  gladly 
would  they  have  given  their  captive  the  pleasure 
of  joining  in  the  chase,  had  not  the  task  been  one 
that  was  far  from  easy  of  accomplishment.  The 
former  of  the  woodsmen  just  mentioned  had  even 
volunteered  to  lead  him  like  a  hound  in  a  leash ; 
but  this  was  a  species  of  degradation  against  which 
it  was  certain  that  a  young  Indian,  ambitious  of  the 
character  and  jealous  of  the  dignity  of  a  warrior, 
would  have  openly  rebelled. 

The  quick  interest  of  the  observant  Ruth  had, 
as  it  has  been  seen,  early  detected  a  growing  intel 
ligence  in  the  boy.  The  means  by  which  one,  who 
never  mingled  in  the  employments,  and  who  rarely 
seemed  to  listen  to  the  dialogues  of  the  family 
could  come  to  comprehend  the  meaning  of  a  lan 
guage  that  is  found  sufficiently  difficult  for  a  scholar, 
were  however  as  much  of  a  mystery  to  her,  as  to 
all  around  her.  Still,  by  the  aid  of  that  instinctive 
tact  which  so  often  enlightens  the  mind  of  woman, 
was  she  certain  of  the  fact.  Profiting  by  this  know 
ledge,  she  assumed  the  task  of  endeavoring  to  obtain 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  119 

an  honorary  pledge  from  her  protege,  that,  if  per 
mitted  to  join  the  hunters,  he  would  return  to  the 
valley  at  the  end  of  the  day.  But  though  the  lan 
guage  of  the  woman  was  gentle  as  her  own  kind 
nature,  and  her  entreaties  that  he  would  give  some 
evidence  of  having  comprehended  her  meaning 
were  zealous  and  oft  repeated,  not  the  smallest 
symptom  of  intelligence,  on  this  occasion,  could  be 
extracted  from  her  pupil.  Disappointed,  and  not 
without  sorrow,  Ruth  had  abandoned  the  compas 
sionate  design  in  despair,  when,  on  a  sudden,  the 
old  Puritan,  who  had  been  a  silent  spectator  of  her 
fruitless  efforts,  announced  his  faith  in  the  integrity 
of  the  lad,  and  his  intention  to  permit  him  to  make 
one  of  the  very  next  party,  that  should  leave  the 
habitations. 

The  cause  of  this  sudden  change  in  the  hitherto 
stern  watchfulness  of  Mark  Heathcote  was,  like  so 
many  other  of  his  impulses,  a  secret  in  his  own  bo 
som.  It  has  just  been  said,  that  during  the  time 
Ruth  was  engaged  in  her  kind  and  fruitless  experi 
ment  to  extract  some  evidence  of  intelligence  from 
the  boy,  the  Puritan  was  a  close  and  interested  ob 
server  of  her  efforts.  He  appeared  to  sympathize 
in  her  disappointment,  but  the  weal  of  those  uncon 
verted  tribes  who  were  to  be  led  from  the  darkness 
of  their  ways  by  the  instrumentality  of  this  youth, 
was  far  too  important  to  admit  the  thought  of  rashly 
losing  the  vantage-ground  he  had  gained,  in  the 
gradually-expanding  intellect  of  the  boy,  by  running 
the  hazard  of  an  escape.  To  all  appearance,  the 
intention  of  permitting  him  to  quit  the  defences  had 
therefore  been  entirely  abandoned,  when  old  Mark 
so  suddenly  announced  a  change  of  resolution.  The 
conjectures  on  the  causes  of  this  unlooked-for  de 
termination  were  exceedingly  various.  Some  be 
lieved  that  the  Puritan  had  been  favored  with  a 
mysterious  intimation  of  the  pleasure  of  Providence; 


120  THE    WEPT 

in  the  matter ;  and  others  thought  that,  beginning 
to  despair  of  success  in  his  undertaking,  he  was 
willing  to  seek  for  a  more  visible  manifestation  of  its 
purposes,  by  hazarding  the  experiment  of  trusting 
the  boy  to  the  direction  of  his  own  impulses.  All 
appeared  to  be  of  opinion  that  if  the  lad  returned, 
the  circumstance  might  be  set  down  to  the  inter 
vention  of  a  miracle.  Still,  with  his  resolution  once 
taken,  the  purpose  of  Mark  Heathcote  remained 
unchanged.  He  announced  this  unexpected  inten 
tion,  after  one  of  his  long  and  solitary  visits  to  the 
block-house,  where  it  is  possible  he  had  held  a  pow 
erful  spiritual  strife  on  the  occasion ;  and,  as  the 
weather  was  exceedingly  favorable  for  such  an  ob 
ject,  he  commanded  his  dependants  to  prepare  to 
make  the  sortie  on  the  following  morning. 

A  sudden  and  an  uncontrollable  gleam  of  delight 
flashed  on  the  dark  features  of  the  captive,  when 
Ruth  was  about  to  place  in  his  hands  the  bow  of  her 
own  son,  and,  by  signs  and  words,  she  gave  him  to 
understand  that  he  was  to  be  permitted  to  use  it  in 
the  free  air  of  the  forest.  But  the  exhibition  of  plea 
sure  disappeared  as  quickly  as  it  had  been  betrayed. 
When  the  lad  received  the  weapons,  it  was  rather 
with  the  manner  of  a  hunter  accustomed  to  their 
use,  than  of  one  to  whose  hands  they  had  so  long 
been  strangers.  As  he  left  the  gates  of  Wish-Ton- 
Wish,  the  handmaidens  of  Ruth  clustered  about 
him,  in  wondering  interest ;  for  it  was  strange  to  see 
a  youth  so  long  guarded  with  jealous  care,  again 
free  and  unwatched.  Notwithstanding  their  ordi 
nary  dependence  on  the  secret  lights  and  great  wis 
dom  of  the  Puritan,  there  was  a  very  general  im 
pression  that  the  lad,  around  whose  presence  there 
vvas  so  much  that  was  mysterious  and  of  interest  to 
their  own  security,  was  now  to  be  gazed  upon  for 
the  last  time.  The  boy  himself  was  unmoved  to  the 
last.  Still  he  paused,  with  his  foot  on  the  threshold 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  121 

of  the  dwelling,  and  appeared  to  regard  Ruth  and 
her  young  offspring  with  momentary  concern.  Then, 
assuming  the  calm  air  of  an  Indian  warrior,  he  suf 
fered  his  eye  to  grow  cold  and  vacant,  following  with 
a  nimble  step  the  hunters  who  were  already  passing 
without  the  palisadoes. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

u  Well,  I  am  your  theme :  you  have  the  start  of  me .  I  am  de 
jected  ;  I  am  not  able  to  answer  the  Welsh  flannel ;  ignorance 
itself  is  a  plummet  over  me:  use  me  as  you  will." 

MERRY  WIVES  OF  WINDSOR. 

POETS,  aided  by  the  general  longing  of  human 
nature,  have  given  a  reputation  to  the  Spring,  that 
it  rarely  merits.  Though  this  imaginative  class  of 
writers  have  said  so  much  of  its  balmy  airs  and 
odoriferous  gales,  we  find  it  nearly  everywhere  the 
most  reluctant,  churlish,  and  fickle  of  the  four  sea 
sons.  It  is  the  youth  of  the  year,  and,  like  that 
probationary  period  of  life,  most  fitted  to  afford  the 
promise  of  better  things.  There  is  a  constant  strug 
gle  between  reality  and  hope  throughout  the  whole 
of  this  slow-moving  and  treacherous  period,  which 
has  an  unavoidable  tendency  to  deceive.  All  that 
is  said  of  its  grateful  productions  is  fallacious,  for 
the  earth  is  as  little  likely  to  yield  a  generous  trib 
ute  without  the  quickening  influence  of  the  summer 
heats,  as  man  is  wont  to  bring  forth  commendable 
fruits  without  the  agency  of  a  higher  moral  powei 
than  any  he  possesses  in  virtue  of  his  innate  pro 
pensities.  On  the  other  hand,  the  fall  of  the  year 
possesses  a  sweetness,  a  repose,  and  a  consistency, 
which  may  be  justly  likened  to  the  decline  of  a 
well-spent  life.  It  is;  in  all  countries  and  in  every 
11 


122  THE  WEPT 

climate,  the  period  when  physical  and  moral  causes 
unite  to  furnish  the  richest  sources  of  enjoyment. 
If  the  Spring  is  the  time  of  hope,  Autumn  is  the 
season  of  fruition.  There  is  just  enough  of  change 
to  give  zest  to  the  current  of  existence,  while  there 
is  too  little  of  vicissitude  to  be  pregnant  of  disap 
pointment.  Succeeding  to  the  nakedness  of  Winter, 
Ihe  Spring  is  grateful  by  comparison;  while  the 
glories  of  Autumn  are  enjoyed,  after  the  genial 
powers  of  Summer  have  been  lavishly  expended. 

In  obedience  to  this  great  law  of  the  earth,  let 
poets  sing  and  fancy  as  they  may,  the  Spring  and 
Autumn  of  America  partake  largely  of  the  univer 
sally  distinctive  characters  of  the  rival  seasons. 
What  Nature  has  done  on  this  Continent,  has  not 
been  done  niggardly ;  and,  while  we  may  boast  of 
a  decline  of  the  year  that  certainly  rivals,  and, 
with  few  exceptions,  eclipses  the  glories  of  most  of 
the  climates  of  the  old  world,  the  opening  months 
rarely  fail  of  equalizing  the  gifts  of  Providence,  by 
a  very  decided  exhibition  of  all  the  disagreeable 
qualities  for  which  they  are  remarkable. 

More  than  half  a  year  had  elapsed,  between  the 
time  when  the  Indian  boy  had  been  found  lurking 
in  the  valley  of  the  Heathcotes,  and  that  day  when 
he  was  first  permitted  to  go  into  the  forest,  fettered 
by  no  other  restraint  than  the  moral  tie  which  the 
owner  of  the  valley  either  knew,  or  fancied,  would 
not  fail  to  cause  him  to  return  to  a  bondage  he  had 
found  so  irksome.  It  was  April ;  but  it  was  April 
as  the  month  was  known  a  century  ago  in  Connec 
ticut,  and  as  it  is  even  now  so  often  found  to  disap 
point  all  expectations  of  that  capricious  season  of 
the  year.  The  weather  had  returned  suddenly  and 
violently  to  the  rigor  of  winter.  A  thaw  had  been 
succeeded  by  a  storm  of  snow  and  sleet,  and  the  in 
terlude  of  the  spring-time  of  blossoms  had  termi 
nated  with  a  biting  gale  from  the  north-west,  which 


OF    WISH-TOX-WISH.  123 

had  apparently  placed  a  permanent  seal  on  the  lin 
gering  presence  of  a  second  February. 

On  the  morning  that  Content  led  his  followers 
into  the  forest,  they  issued  from  the  postern  clad  in 
coats  of  skin.  Their  lower  limbs  were  protected 
by  the  coarse  leggings  which  they  had  worn  in  so 
many  previous  hunts,  during  the  past  winter,  if  that 
might  be  called  past  which  had  returned,  weakened 
but  little  of  its  keenness,  and  bearing  all  the  out 
ward  marks  of  January.  When  last  seen,  Eben 
Dudley,  the  heaviest  of  the  band,  was  moving  firmly 
on  the  crust  of  the  snow,  with  a  step  as  sure  as  if 
he  had  trodden  on  the  frozen  earth  itself.  More 
than  one  of  the  maidens  declared,  that  though  they 
had  endeavored  to  trace  the  footsteps  of  the  hunters 
from  the  palisadoes,  it  would  have  exceeded  even 
the  sagacity  of  an  Indian  eye  to  follow  their  trail 
along  the  icy  path  they  travelled. 

Hour  after  hour  passed,  without  bringing  tidings 
from  the  chase.  The  reports  of  fire-arms  had  in 
deed  been  occasionally  heard,  ringing  among  the 
arches  of  the  woods ;  and  broken  echoes  were,  for 
some  hours,  rolling  from  one  recess  of  the  hills  to 
another.  But  even  these  signs  of  the  presence  of 
the  hunters  gradually  receded  with  the  advance  of 
the  day ;  and,  long  ere  the  sun  had  gained  the  me 
ridian,  and  its  warmth,  at  that  advanced  season  not 
without  power,  was  shed  into  the  valley,  the  whole 
range  of  the  adjoining  forest  lay  in  its  ordinary  dull 
and  solemn  silence. 

The  incident  of  the  hunt,  apart  from  the  absence 
of  the  Indian  boy,  was  one  of  too  common  occur 
rence  to  give  birth  to  afiy  particular  motives  of  ex 
citement.  Ruth  quietly  busied  herself  among  her 
women,  and  when  the  recollection  of  those  who 
were  scouring  the  neighboring  forest  came  at  all  to 
her  mind,  it  was  coupled  with  the  care  with  which 
the  was  providing  to  administer  to  their  comforts, 


121  THE   WEPT 

after  the  fatigue  of  a  day  of  extraordinary  personal 
efforts.  This  was  a  duty  never  lightly  performed. 
Her  situation  was  one  eminently  fitted  to  foster  the 
best  affections  of  woman,  since  it  admitted  of  few 
temptations  to  yield  to  other  than  the  most  natural 
feeling ;  she  was,  in  consequence,  known  on  all  oc 
casions  to  exercise  them  with  the  devotedness  of 
her  sex. 

"  Thy  father  and  his  companions  will  look  on  our 
care  with  pleasure,"  said  the  thoughtful  matron  to 
her  youthful  image,  as  she  directed  a  more  than 
usual  provision  of  her  larder  to  be  got  in  readiness 
for  the  hunters ;  "  home  is  ever  sweetest  after  toil 
and  exposure." 

"  I  doubt  if  Mark  be  not  ready  to  faint  with  so 
weary  a  march,"  said  the  child  already  introduced 
by  the  name  of  Martha;  "he  is  young  to  go  into 
the  woods,  with  scouters  tall  as  great  Dudley." 

"And  the  heathen,"  added  the  little  Ruth,  "he  is 
young  too  as  Mark,  though  more  used  to  the  toil.  It 
may  be,  mother,  that  he  will  never  come  to  us 
more  !" 

"  That  would  grieve  our  venerable  parent ;  for 
thou  knowest,  Ruth,  that  he  hath  hopes  of  working 
on  the  mind  of  the  boy,  until  his  savage  nature  shall 
yield  to  the  secret  power.  But  the  sun  is  falling  be 
hind  the  hill,  and  the  evening  is  coming  in  cool  as 
winter ;  go  to  the  postern,  and  look  out  upon  the 
fields.  I  would  know  if  there  be  any  signs  of  thy 
father  and  his  party." 

Though  Ruth  gave  this  mandate  to  her  daugh 
ter,  she  did  not  the  less  neglect  to  exercise  her  own 
faculties  in  the  same  grateful  office.  While  the 
children  went,  as  they  were  ordered,  to  the  outer 
gate,  the  matron  herself  ascended  to  the  lower 
apartment  of  the  block,  and,  from  its  different  loops, 
she  took  a  long  and  anxious  survey  of  the  limited 
prospect.  The  shadows  of  the  trees,  that  lined  the 


OF  WISH-TON- WISH.  125 

western  side  of  the  view,  were  already  thrown  far 
across  the  broad  sheet  of  frozen  snow,  and  the  sud 
den  chill  which  succeeded  the  disappearance  of  the 
Bun  announced  the  rapid  approach  of  a  night  that 
promised  to  support  the  severe  character  of  the 
past  day.  A  freezing  wind,  which  had  brought  with 
it  the  cold  airs  of  the  great  lakes,  and  which  had 
even  triumphed  over  the  more  natural  influence  of 
an  April  sun,  had  however  fallen,  leaving  a  temper 
ature  not  unlike  that  which  dwells  in  the  milder 
seasons  of  the  year  among  the  glaciers  of  the  upper 
Alps. 

Ruth  was  too  long  accustomed  to  such  forest 
scenes,  and  to  such  a  "  lingering  of  winter  in  the  lap 
of  May,"  to  feel,  on  their  account,  any  additional 
uneasiness.  But  the  hour  had  now  arrived  when 
she  had  reason  to  look  for  the  return  of  the  hunters. 
With  the  expectation  of  seeing  their  forms  issuing 
from  the  forest,  came  the  anxiety  which  is  an  un 
avoidable  attendant  of  disappointment.  The  shadows 
continued  to  deepen  in  the  valley,  until  the  gloom 
thickened  to  the  darkness  of  night,  without  bringing 
any  tidings  from  those  without. 

When  a  delay,  which  was  unusual  in  the  mem 
bers  of  a  family  circumstanced  like  that  of  the 
Wish-Ton-Wish,  came  to  be  coupled  with  various 
little  observations  that  had  been  made  during  the 
day,  it  was  thought  that  reasons  for  alarm  were  be 
ginning,  at  each  instant,  to  grow  more  plausible. 
Reports  of  fire-arms  had  been  heard,  at  an  early 
hour,  from  opposite  points  in  the  hills,  and  in  a 
manner  too  distinct  to  be  mistaken  for  echoes;  a 
certain  proof  that  the  different  members  of  the  hunt 
had  separated  in  the  forest.  Under  such  circum 
stances,  it  was  not  difficult  for  the  imagination  of 
a  wife  and  a  mother,  of  a  sister,  or  of  her  who 
secretly  confessed  a  still  more  tender  interest  in 
some  one  of  the  hunters,  to  conjure  to  the  imagina- 
11* 


126  THE  WEPT 

tion  the  numberless  dangers  to  which  those  wh 
were  engaged  in  these  expeditions  were  known  to 
be  exposed. 

"  I  doubt  that  the  chase  hath  drawn  them  further 
from  the  valley  than  is  fitting  for  the  hour  and  the 
season,"  observed  Ruth  to  her  maidens,  who  had 
gathered  in  a  group  about  her,  at  a  point  that  over 
looked  as  much  of  the  cleared  land  around  the 
buildings,  as  the  darkness  would  allow;  "the  gravesl 
man  becomes  thoughtless  as  the  unreflecting  child 
when  led  by  the  eagerness  of  the  pursuit.  It  is  the 
duty  of  older  heads  to  think  for  those  that  want  ex 
perience — but  into  what  indiscreet  complaints  are 
my  fears  leading !  It  may  be  that  my  husband  is 
even  now  striving  to  collect  his  party,  in  order  to 
return.  Hast  any  heard  his  conch  sounding  the 
recall  V 

"  The  woods  are  still  as  the  day  the  first  echo  of 
the  axe  was  heard  among  the  trees,"  returned  Faith. 
"I  did  hear  that  which  sounded  like  a  strain  of 
brawling  Dudley's  songs,  but  it  proved  to  be  no  more 
than  the  lowing  of  one  of  his  own  oxen.  Perchance 
the  animal  misseth  some  of  its  master's  care." 

"Whittal  Ring  hath  looked  to  the  beasts,  and  it 
may  not  be  that  he  hath  neglected  to  feed,  among 
others,  the  creatures  of  Dudley.  Thy  mind  is  given 
to  levity,  Faith,  in  the  matter  of  this  young  man. 
It  is  not  seemly  that  one  of  thy  years  and  sex  should 
manifest  so  great  displeasure  at  the  name  of  a  youth, 
who  is  of  an  honest  nature,  and  of  honest  habits, 
too,  though  he  may  appear  ungainly  to  the  eye,  and 
have  so  little  favor  with  one  of  thy  disposition." 

"  I  did  not  fashion  the  man."  said  Faith,  biting 
her  lip,  and  tossing  her  head;  "nor  is  it  aught  to 
me  whether  he  be  gainly  or  not.  As  to  my  favor 
when  he  asks  it,  the  man  shall  not  wait  long  to  know 
the  answer.  But  is  not  yon  figure  the  fellow  him 
self,  Madam  Heathcote  ? — here,  coming  in  from  the 


OF    WISH-TON- WISH.  127 

eastern  hill,  along  the  orchard  path.  The  form  I 
mean  is  just  here ;  you  may  see  it,  at  this  moment; 
turning  by  the  bend  in  the  brook." 

"  There  is  one  of  a  certainty,  and  it  should  be 
one  of  our  hunting  party,  too ;  and  yet  he  doth  not 
seem  to  be  of  a  size  or  of  a  gait  like  that  of  Eben 
Dudley.  Thou  shouldst  have  a  knowledge  of  thy 
kindred,  girl ;  to  me  it  seemeth  thy  brother." 

"Truly,  it  may  be  Reuben  Ring;  still  it  hath 
much  of  the  swagger  of  the  other,  though  their 
stature  be  nearly  equal — the  manner  of  carrying 
the  musket  is  much  the  same  with  all  the  borderers 
too — one  cannot  easily  tell  the  form  of  man  from  a 
stump  by  this  light — and — yet  do  I  think  it  will 
prove  to  be  the  loitering  Dudley." 

"  Loiterer  or  not,  he  is  the  first  to  return  from 
this  long  and  weary  chase,"  said  Ruth,  breathing 
heavily,  like  one  who  regretted  that  the  truth  were 
so.  "Go  thou  to  the  postern,  and  admit  him,  girl.  I 
ordered  bolts  to  be  drawn,  for  I  like  not  to  leave  a 
fortress  defended  by  a  female  garrison,  at  this  hour, 
with  open  gates.  I  will  hie  to  the  dwelling,  and  see 
to  the  comforts  of  those  who  are  a-hungered,  since 
it  will  not  be  long  ere  we  shall  have  more  of  them 
at  hand." 

Faith  complied,  with  affected  indifference  and 
sufficient  delay.  By  the  time  she  had  reached  the 
place  of  admission,  a  form  was  seen  ascending  the 
acclivity,  and  taking  the  direction  which  led  to  the 
same  spot.  In  the  next  minute,  a  rude  effort  to  en 
ter  announced  an  arrival  without. 

"Gently,  Master  Dudley,"  said  the  wilful  girl, 
who  held  the  bolt  with  one  hand,  though  she  ma 
liciously  delayed  to  remove  it.  "  We  know  thou 
art  powerful  of  arm,  and  yet  the  palisadoes  will 
scarcely  fall  at  thy  touch.  Here  are  no  Sampsons 
to  pull  down  the  pillars  on  our  heads.  Perhaps  we 


128  THE    WEPT 

may  not  be  disposed  to  give  entrance  to  them 
stay  abroad  out  of  all  season." 

"Open  the  postern,  girl,"  said  Eben  Dudley; 
"  after  which,  if  thou  hast  aught  to  say,  we  shall 
be  better  convenienced  for  discourse." 

"  It  may  be  that  thy  conversation  is  most  agree 
able  when  heard  from  without.  Render  an  account 
of  thy  backslidings,  throughout  this  day,  penitent 
Dudley,  that  I  may  take  pity  on  thy  weariness.  But 
lest  hunger  should  have  overcome  thy  memory,  I 
may  serve  to  help  thee  to  the  particulars.  The 
first  of  thy  offences  was  to  consume  more  than  thy 
portion  of  the  cold  meats ;  the  second  was  to  suffer 
Reuben  Ring  to  kill  the  deer,  and  for  thee  to  claim 
it ;  and  a  third  was  the  trick  thou  hast  of  listening 
so  much  to  thine  own  voice,  that  even  the  beasts 
fled  thee,  from  dislike  of  thy  noise." 

"  Thou  triflest  unseasonably,  Faith ;  I  would 
speak  with  the  Captain,  without  delay." 

"  It  may  be  that  he  is  better  employed  than  to 
desire  such  company.  Thou  art  not  the  only  strange 
animal  by  many  who  hath  roared  at  the  gate  of 
Wish-Ton-Wish." 

"  Have  any  come  within  the  day,  Faith  ?"  de 
manded  the  borderer,  with  the  interest  such  an 
event  would  be  likely  to  create  in  the  mind  of  one 
who  habitually  lived  in  so  great  retirement. 

"  What  sayest  thou  to  a  second  visit  from  the 
gentle-spoken  stranger  ?  he  who  favored  us  with  so 
much  gay  discourse,  the  by-gone  fall  of  the  year. 
That  would  be  a  guest  fit  to  receive !  I  warrant  me 
his  knock  would  not  be  heard  a  second  time.'' 

"  The  gallant  had  better  beware  the  moon !"  ex 
claimed  Dudley,  striking  the  but  of  his  musket 
against  the  ice  with  so  much  force  as  to  cause  his 
companion  to  start,  in  alarm.  "  What  fool's  errand 
hath  again  brought  him  to  prick  his  nag  so  deep 
into  the  forest  ?" 


OP    WISH-TON-WISH.  129 

"  Nay,  thy  wit  is  ever  like  the  unbroken  colt,  a 
headstrong  run-away.  I  said  not,  in  full  meaning, 
that  the  man  had  come ;  I  only  invited  thee  to  give 
an  opinion  in  the  event  that  he  should  arrive  unex 
pectedly,  though  I  am  far  from  certain  that  any 
here  ever  expect  to  see  his  face  again." 

"This  is  foolish  prating,"  returned  the  youth, 
provoked  at  the  exhibition  of  jealousy  into  which 
he  had  been  incautiously  betrayed.  "  I  tell  thee  to 
withdraw  the  bolt,  for  I  have  great  need  to  speak 
with  the  Captain,  or  with  his  son." 

"  Thou  mayst  open  thy  mind  to  the  first,  if  he 
will  listen  to  what  thou  hast  to  say,"  returned  the 
girl,  removing  the  impediment  to  his  entrance ; 
"  but  thou  wilt  sooner  get  the  ear  of  the  other  by 
remaining  at  the  gate,  since  he  has  not  yet  come  in 
from  the  forest." 

Dudley  recoiled  a  pace,  and  repeated  her  words 
in  the  tone  of  one  who  admitted  a  feeling  of  alarm 
to  mingle  with  his  surprise. 

"  Not  in  from  the  forest !"  he  said ;  "  surely  there 
are  none  abroad,  now  that  I  am  home !" 

"Why  dost  say  it?  I  have  put  my  jibes  upon 
thee  more  in  payment  of  ancient  transgressions 
than  for  any  present  offence.  So  far  from  being 
last,  thou  art  the  first  of  the  hunters  we  have  yet 
seen.  Go  in  to  the  Madam  without  delay,  and  tell 
her  of  the  danger,  if  any  there  be,  that  we  take 
speedy  measures  for  our  safety." 

"  That  would  do  little  good,  truly,"  muttered  the 
borderer,  like  one  musing.  "  Stay  thou  here,  and 
watch  the  postern,  Faith;  I  will  back  to  the  woods; 
for  a  timely  word,  or  a  signal  blown  from  my  conch, 
might  quicken  their  footsteps." 

What  madness  hath  beset  thee,  Dudley !  Thou 
wouldst  not  go  into  the  forest  again,  at  this  hour 
and  alone,  if  there  be  reason  for  fear !  Come  farther 
within  the  gate,  man,  that  I  may  draw  the  bolt 


130  THE   WEPT 

the  Madam  will   wonder  that  we    tarry  here  so 
long." 

"  Ha ! — I  hear  feet  moving  in  the  meadow ;  I 
know  it  by  the  creaking  of  the  snow ;  the  others 
are  not  lagging." 

Notwithstanding  the  apparent  certainty  of  the 
young  man,  instead  of  going  forth  to  meet  his  friends, 
he  withdrew  a  step,  and  with  his  own  hand  drew 
the  bolt  that  Faith  had  just  desired  might  be  fas 
tened  ;  taking  care  at  the  same  time  to  let  fall  a 
swinging  bar  of  wood,  which  gave  additional  secu 
rity  to  the  fastenings  of  the  postern.  His  appre 
hensions,  if  any  such  had  induced  this  caution,  were 
however  unnecessary;  for  ere  he  had  time  to  make, 
or  even  to  reflect  on  any  further  movement,  admis 
sion  was  demanded  in  the  well-known  voice  of  the 
son  of  him  who  owned  the  valley.  The  bustle  of 
the  arrival,  for  with  Content  entered  a  group  of 
companions  loaded  with  venison,  put  an  end  to  the 
dialogue.  Faith  seized  the  opportunity  to  glide 
away  in  the  obscurity,  in  order  to  announce  to  her 
mistress  that  the  hunters  had  returned — an  office 
that  she  performed  without  entering  at  all  into  the 
particulars  of  her  own  interview  with  Eben  Dudley. 

It  is  needless  to  dwell  on  the  satisfaction  with 
which  Ruth  received  her  husband  and  son,  after 
the  uneasiness  she  had  just  suffered.  Though  the 
severe  manners  of  the  Province  admitted  of  no  vio 
lent  exhibition  of  passing  emotions,  secret  joy  was 
reigning  in  the  mild  eyes  and  glowing  about  the 
flushed  cheeks  of  the  discreet  matron,  while  she 
personally  officiated  in  the  offices  of  the  evening 
meal. 

The  party  had  returned  teeming  with  no  extra 
ordinary  incidents ;  nor  did  they  appear  to  be  dis. 
turbed  with  any  of  that  seriousness  of  air  which 
had  so  unequivocally  characterized  the  deportment 
of  him  who  had  preceded  them.  On  the  contrary. 


OF  WISH-TON- WISH.  131 

each  had  his  quiet  tale  to  relate,  now  perhaps  at 
the  expense  of  a  luckless  companion,  and  sometimes 
in  order  that  no  part  of  his  own  individual  skill,  as 
a  hunter,  should  be  unknown.  The  delay  was  ac 
counted  for,  as  similar  delays  are  commonly  ex 
plained,  by  distance  and  the  temptations  of  an  un 
usually  successful  chase.  As  the  appetites  of  those 
who  had  passed  the  day  in  the  exciting  toil  were 
keen  and  the  viands  tempting,  the  first  half-hour 
passed  quickly,  as  all  such  half-hours  are  wont  to 
pass,  in  garrulous  recitals  of  personal  exploits,  and 
of  the  hairbreadth  escapes  of  deer,  which,  had 
fortune  not  been  fickle,  should  have  now  been 
present  as  trophies  of  the  skill  of  the  hand  by 
which  they  fell.  It  was  only  after  personal  vanity 
was  sufficiently  appeased,  and  when  the  hunger  even 
of  a  border-man  could  achieve  no  more,  that  the 
hunters  began  to  look  about  them  with  a  diminished 
excitement,  and  to  discuss  the  events  of  the  day 
with  a  fitting  calmness,  and  with  a  discretion  more 
suited  to  their  ordinary  self-command. 

"  We  lost  the  sound  of  thy  conch,  wandering 
Dudley,  as  we  fell  into  the  deep  hollow  of  the 
mountain,"  said  Content,  in  a  pause  of  the  discourse; 
"  since  which  time,  neither  eye  nor  ear  of  any  has 
had  trace  of  thy  movements,  until  we  met  thee  at 
the  postern,  stationed  like  a  looker-out  on  his  watch." 
The  individual  addressed  had  mingled  in  none 
of  the  gaiety  of  the  hour.  While  others  fed  freely, 
or  joined  in  the  quiet  joke,  which  could  escape  the 
lips  of  even  men  chastened  as  his  companions,  Eben, 
Dudley  had  tasted  sparingly  of  the  viands.  Nor  had 
the  muscles  of  his  hard  countenance  once  relaxed 
in  a  smile.  A  gravity  and  silence  so  extraordinary, 
in  one  so  little  accustomed  to  exhibit  either  quality, 
did  not  fail  to  attract  attention.  It  was  universally 
ascribed  to  the  circumstance  that  he  had  returned 
empty-handed  from  the  hunt:  and  now  that  one 


132  THE  WEPT 

having  authority  had  seen  fit  to  give  such  a  direc 
tion  to  the  discourse,  the  imaginary  delinquent  wag 
not  permitted  to  escape  unscathed. 

"  The  butcher  had  little  to  do  with  this  day's 
killing,"  said  one  of  the  young  men;  "  as  a  punish 
ment  for  his  absence  from  the  slaughter,  he  should 
be  made  to  go  on  the  hill  and  bring  in  the  two  bucks 
he  will  find  hanging  from  a  maple  sapling  near  to 
the  drinking  spring.  Our  meat  should  pass  through 
his  hands  in  some  fashion  or  other,  else  will  it  lack 
savor." 

"  Ever  since  the  death  of  the  straggling  wether, 
the  trade  of  Eben  hath  been  at  a  stand,"  added 
another ;  "  the  down-hearted  youth  seems  like  one 
ready  to  give  up  his  calling  to  the  first  stranger 
that  shall  ask  it." 

"Creatures  which  run  at  large  prove  better 
mutton  than  the  stalled  wether,"  continued  a  third; 
"  and  thereby  custom  was  getting  low  before  this 
hunt.  Beyond  a  doubt,  he  has  a  full  supply  for  all 
who  shall  be  likely  to  seek  venison  in  his  stall." 

Ruth  observed  that  the  countenance  of  her  hus 
band  grew  grave,  at  these  allusions  to  an  event  he 
had  always  seemed  to  wish  forgotten ;  and  she  inter 
posed  with  a  view  to  lead  the  minds  of  those  who 
listened,  back  to  matter  more  fitting  to  be  discussed. 

"  How  is  this  ?"  she  exclaimed  in  haste ;  "  hath 
the  stout  Dudley  lost  any  of  his  craft  ?  I  have  never 
counted  with  greater  certainty  on  the  riches  of  the 
table,  than  when  he  hath  been  sent  among  the  hills 
for  the  fat  deer,  or  the  tender  turkey.  It  would 
much  grieve  me  to  learn  that  he  beginneth  to  lack 
the  hunter's  skill." 

"  The  man  is  getting  melancholy  with  over-feed 
ing,"  muttered  the  wilful  tones  of  one  busied  among 
the  vessels,  in  a  distant  part  of  the  room.  "He 
taketh  his  exercise  alone,  in  order  that  none  need 


or  wisH-TOff-wisH.  133 


discover  the  failing.  I  think  he  be  much  disposed  to 
go  over  sea,  in  order  to  become  a  trooper." 

Until  now,  the  subject  of  these  mirthful  attacks 
had  listened  like  one  too  confident  of  his  established 
reputation  to  feel  concern  ;  but  at  the  sound  of  thf 
last  speaker's  voice,  he  grasped  the  bushy  covering 
of  one  entire  cheek  in  his  hand,  and  turning  a  re 
proachful  and  irritated  glance  at  the  already  half- 
repentant  eye  of  Faith  Ring,  all  his  natural  spirit 
returned. 

"  It  may  be  that  my  skill  hath  left  me,"  he  said, 
"  and  that  I  love  to  be  alone,  rather  than  to  be 
troubled  with  the  company  of  some  that  might 
readily  be  named,  no  reference  being  had  to  such 
gallants  as  ride  up  and  down  the  colony,  putting 
evil  opinions  into  the  thoughts  of  honest  men's 
daughters  ;  but  why  is  Eben  Dudley  to  bear  all  the 
small  shot  of  your  humors,  when  there  is  another 
who,  it  might  seem,  hath  strayed  even  further  from 
your  trail  than  he  ?" 

Eye  sought  eye,  and  each  youth  by  hasty  glances 
endeavored  to  read  the  countenances  of  all  the 
rest  in  company,  in  order  to  learn  who  the  absentee 
might  be.  The  young  borderers  shook  their  heads,  as 
the  features  of  every  well-known  face  were  recog 
nised,  and  a  general  exclamation  of  denial  was 
about  to  break  from  their  lips,  when  Ruth  ex 
claimed  — 

"  Truly,  the  Indian  is  wanting  !" 

So  constant  was  the  apprehension  of  danger  from 
the  savages,  in  the  breasts  of  those  who  dwelt  on 
that  exposed  frontier,  that  every  man  arose  at  the 
words,  by  a  sudden  and  commcn  impulse,  and  each 
individual  gazed  about  him  in  a  surprise  that  was  a 
little  akin  to  dismay. 

"  The  boy  was  with  us  when  we  quitted  the  for 
est,"  said  Content,  after  a  moment  of  death-like 
stillness.  "  T  spoke  to  him  in  commendation  of  his 
12 


134  THE    WEPT 

activity,  and  of  the  knowledge  he  had  shown  in 
beating  up  the  secret  places  of  the  deer;  though 
there  is  little  reason  to  think  my  words  were  under 
stood." 

"  And  were  it  not  sinful  to  take  such  solemn  evi 
dence  in  behalf  of  so  light  a  matter,  I  could  be  quali 
fied  on  the  Book  itself,  that  he  was  at  my  elbow  as 
we  entered  the  orchard,"  added  Reuben  Ring,  a 
man  renowned  in  that  little  community  for  the  ac 
curacy  of  his  vision 

"  And  I  will  make  oath  or  declaration  of  any  sort, 
lawful  or  conscientious,  that  he  came  not  within  the 
postern  when  it  was  opened  by  my  own  hand,"  re 
turned  Eben  Dudley.  "  I  told  off  the  number  of  the 
party  as  you  passed,  and  right  sure  am  I  that  no  red 
skin  entered." 

"  Canst  thou  tell  us  aught  of  the  lad  ?"  demanded 
Ruth,  quick  to  take  the  alarm  on  a  subject  that  had 
so  long  exercised  her  care,  and  given  food  to  her 
imagination. 

"  Nothing.  With  me  he  hath  not  been  since  the 
turn  of  the  day.  I  have  not  seen  the  face  of  living 
man  from  that  moment,  unless  in  truth  one  of  mys 
terious  character,  whom  I  met  in  the  forest,  may 
be  so  called." 

The  manner  in  which  the  woodsman  spoke  was 
too  serious  and  too  natural,  not  to  give  birth  in  his 
auditors  to  some  of  his  own  gravity.  Perhaps  the 
appearance  of  the  Puritan,  at  that  moment,  aided 
in  quieting  the  levity  that  had  been  uppermost  in 
the  minds  of  the  young  men ;  for,  it  is  certain,  that 
when  he  entered,  a  deeper  and  a  general  curiosity 
came  over  the  countenances  of  all  present.  Content 
waited  a  moment  in  respectful  silence,  till  his  father 
had  moved  slowly  through  the  circle,  and  then  he 
prepared  himself  to  look  further  into  an  affair  that 
began  to  assume  the  appearance  of  matter  worthy 
of  investigation. 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  135 


CHAPTER  IX. 

"Last  night  of  all, 

When  yon  same  star,  that's  westward  from  the  pole, 
Had  made  its  course  to  illume  that  part  of  heaven 
Where  now  it  burns,  Marcellus,  and  myself, 

The  bell  then  beating  one " 

"Peace,  break  thee  off;  look,  where  it  comes  again  I" 

HAMLET. 

IT  is  our  duty,  as  faithful  historians  of  the  events 
recorded  in  this  homely  legend,  to  conceal  no  cir 
cumstance  which  may  throw  the  necessary  degree 
of  light  on  its  incidents,  nor  any  opinion  that  may 
serve  for  the  better  instruction  of  the  reader  in  the 
characters  of  its  actors.  In  order  that  this  obliga 
tion  may  be  discharged  with  sufficient  clearness  and 
precision,  it  has  now  become  necessary  to  make  a 
short  digression  from  the  immediate  action  of  the 
tale. 

Enough  has  been  already  shown,  to  prove  that 
the  Heathcotes  lived  at  a  time,  and  in  a  country, 
where  very  quaint  and  peculiar  religious  dogmas 
had  the  ascendancy.  At  a  period  when  visible  man 
ifestations  of  the  goodness  of  Providence,  not  only 
in  spiritual  but  in  temporal  gifts,  were  confidently 
expected  and  openly  proclaimed,  it  is  not  at  all  sur 
prising  that  more  evil  agencies  should  be  thought 
to  exercise  their  power  in  a  manner  that  is  some 
what  opposed  to  the  experience  of  our  own  age.  As 
we  have  no  wish,  however,  to  make  these  pages  the 
medium  of  a  theological  or  metaphysical  controversy, 
we  shall  deal  tenderly  with  certain  important  events, 
that  most  of  the  writers,  who  were  cotemporary 
with  the  facts,  assert  took  place  in  the  Colonies  of 
New-England,  at  and  about  the  period  of  which  we 
are  now  writing.  It  is  sufficiently  known  that  the 


136  THE    WEPT 

art  of  witchcraft,  and  one  even  still  more  diabolical 
and  direct  in  its  origin,  were  then  believed  to  flour 
ish,  in  that  quarter  of  the  world,  to  a  degree  that 
was  probably  in  a  very  just  proportion  to  the  neglect 
with  which  most  of  the  other  arts  of  life  were 
treated. 

There  is  so  much  grave  and  respectable  authori 
ty,  to  prove  the  existence  of  these  evil  influences, 
that  it  requires  a  pen  hardier  than  any  we  wield, 
to  attack  them  without  a  suitable  motive.  "  Flashy 
people,"  says  the  learned  and  pious  Cotton  Mather, 
Doctor  of  Divinity  and  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society, 
"  may  burlesque  these  things ;  but  when  hundreds 
of  the  most  sober  people,  in  a  country  where  they 
have  as  much  mother  wit,  certainly,  as  the  rest  of 
mankind,  know  them  to  be  true,  nothing  but  the  absurd 
and  froward  spirit  of  Sadducism  can  question  them." 
Against  this  grave  and  credited  authority,  we  pre 
tend  to  raise  no  question  of  scepticism.  We  submit 
to  the  testimony  of  such  a  writer  as  conclusive, 
though  as  credulity  is  sometimes  found  to  be  bounded 
by  geograpical  limits,  and  to  possess  something  of  a 
national  character,  it  may  be  prudent  to  refer  cer 
tain  readers,  who  dwell  in  the  other  hemisphere, 
to  the  Common  Law  of  England,  on  this  interesting 
subject,  as  it  is  ingeniously  expounded  by  Keeble 
and  approved  by  the  twelve  judges  of  that  highly 
civilized  and  enlightened  island.  With  this  brief 
reference  to  so  grave  authorities,  in  support  of  what 
we  have  now  to  offer,  we  shall  return  to  the  matter 
of  the  narrative,  fully  trusting  that  its  incidents 
will  throw  some  additional  light  on  the  subject  of  so 
deep  and  so  general  concern. 

Content  waited  respectfully  until  his  father  had 
taken  his  seat,  and  then  perceiving  that  the  vener 
able  Puritan  had  no  immediate  intention  of  moving 
personally  in  the  affair,  he  commenced  the  examin 
ation  of  his  dependant  as  follows;  opening  the  mat- 


OF  WISH- TON- WISH.  137 

ter  with  a  seriousness  that  was  abundantly  warrant 
ed  by  the  gravity  of  the  subject  itself. 

"  Thou  hast  spoken  of  one  met  in  the  forest,"  he 
said  •  "  proceed  with  the  purport  of  that  interview, 
and  tell  us  of  what  manner  of  man  it  was." 

Thus  directly  interrogated,  Eben  Dudley  disposed 
himself  to  give  a  full  and  satisfactory  answer.  First 
casting  a  glance  around,  so  as  to  embrace  every 
curious  and  eager  countenance,  and  letting  his  look 
rest  a  little  longer  than  common  on  a  half-interested, 
half-incredulous,  and  a  somewhat  ironical  dark  eye, 
that  was  riveted  on  his  own  from  a  distant  corner 
of  the  room,  he  commenced  his  statement  as  fol 
lows: 

"It  is  known  to  you  all,"  said  the  borderer,  "that 
when  we  had  gained  the  mountain-top,  there  was  a 
division  of  our  numbers,  in  such  a  fashion  that  each 
hunter  should  sweep  his  own  range  of  the  forest,  in 
order  that  neither  moose,  deer,  nor  bear,  might  have 
reasonable  chance  of  escape.  Being  of  large  frame, 
and  it  may  be  of  swifter  foot  than  common,  the 
young  Captain  saw  fit  to  command  Reuben  Ring  to 
flank  one  end  of  the  line,  and  a  man,  who  is  nothing 
short  of  him  in  either  speed,  or  strength,  to  do  the 
same  duty  on  the  other.  There  was  nothing  partic 
ularly  worthy  of  mention  that  took  place  on  the 
flank  I  held,  for  the  first  two  hours ;  unless  indeed 
the  fact,  that  three  several  times  did  I  fall  upon  a 
maze  of  well-beaten  deer-tracks,  that  as  often  led 
to  nothing " 

"  These  are  signs  common  to  the  woods,  and  they 
are  no  more  than  so  many  proofs  that  the  animal 
has  its  sports,  like  any  other  playful  creature,  when 
not  pressed  by  hunger  or  by  danger,"  quietly  ob 
served  Content. 

"I  pretend  not  to  take  those  deceitful  tracks 
much  into  the  account,"  resumed  Dudley;  "but 
shortly  after  losing  the  sound  of  the  conchs,  I 
12* 


138  THE  WEPT 

roused  a  noble  buck  from  his  lair  beneath  a  thicket 
of  hemlocks,  and  having  the  game  in  view,  the 
chase  led  me  wide-off  to  wards  the  wilderness,  it  may 
have  been  the  distance  of  two  leagues." 

"  And  in  all  that  time,  had  you  no  fitting  moment 
to  strike  the  beast  1" 

"  None  whatever ;  nor,  if  opportunity  had  been 
given,  am  I  bold  to  say  that  hand  of  mine  would 
have  been  hardy  enough  to  aim  at  its  life." 

"Was  there  aught  in  the  deer,  that  a  hunter 
should  seek  to  spare  it  ?" 

"  There  was  that  in  the  deer,  that  might  bring  a 
Christian  man  to  much  serious  reflection."  % 

"  Deal  more  openly  with  the  nature  and  appear 
ance  of  the  animal,"  said  Content,  a  little  less  tran 
quil  than  usual;  while  the  youths  and  maidens 
placed  themselves  in  attitudes  still  more  strongly 
denoting  attention. 

Dudley  pondered  an  instant,  and  then  he  com 
menced  a  less  equivocal  enumeration  of  what  he 
conceived  to  be  the  marvels  of  his  tale. 

"  Firstly,"  he  said,  "  there  was  no  trail,  neither 
to  nor  from  the  spot  where  the  creature  had  made 
its  lair;  secondly,  when  roused,  it  took  not  the 
alarm,  but  leaped  sportingly  ahead,  taking  suffi 
cient  care  to  be  beyond  the  range  of  musket,  with 
out  ever  becoming  hid  from  the  eye ;  and  lastly  its 
manner  of  disappearance  was  as  worthy  of  mention 
as  any  other  of  its  movements." 

"  And  in  what  manner  didst  thou  lose  the  crea 
ture?" 

"I  had  gotten  it  upon  the  crest  of  a  hillock, 
where  true  eye  and  steady  hand  might  make  sure 
of  a  buck  of  much  smaller  size,  when — didst  hear 
aught  that  might  be  accounted  wonderful,  at  a 
season  of  the  year  when  the  snows  are  still  lying  on 
the  earth?" 

The  auditors  regarded  one  another  curiously,  each 


OP  WISH-TON- WISH.  139 

endeavoring  to  recall  some  unwonted  sound  which 
might  sustain  a  narrative  that  was  fast  obtaining 
the  seducing  interest  of  the  marvellous. 

"Wast  sure,  Charity,  that  the  howl  we  heard 
from  the  forest  was  the  yell  of  the  beaten  hound?" 
demanded  a  handmaiden  of  Ruth,  of  a  blue-eyed 
companion,  who  seemed  equally  well  disposed  to 
contribute  her  share  of  evidence  in  support  of  any 
exciting  legend. 

"It  might  have  been  other,"  was  the  answer 
"though  the  hunters  do  speak  of  their  having  beaten 
the  pup  for  restiveness." 

"  There  was  a  tumult  among  the  echoes,  that 
sounded  like  the  noises  which  follow  the  uproar  of 
a  falling  tree,"  said  Ruth,  thoughtfully.  "  I  remem 
ber  to  have  asked  if  it  might  not  be  that  some 
fierce  beast  had  caused  a  general  discharge  of  the 
musketry,  but  my  father  was  of  opinion  that  death 
had  undermined  some  heavy  oak." 

"  At  what  hour  might  this  have  happened  ?" 

"  It  was  past  the  turn  of  the  day ;  for  it  was  at 
the  moment  I  bethought  me  of  the  hunger  of  those 
who  had  toiled  since  light,  in  the  hills." 

"  That  then  was  the  sound  I  mean.  It  came  not 
from  falling  tree,  but  was  uttered  in  the  air,  far 
above  all  forests.  Had  it  been  heard  by  one  better 
skilled  in  the  secrets  of  nature " 

"  He  would  say  it  thundered;"  interrupted  Faith 
Ring,  who,  unlike  most  of  the  other  listeners,  man 
ifested  little  of  the  quality  which  was  expressed 
by  her  name.  "Truly,  Eben  Dudley  hath  done 
marvels  in  this  hunt ;  he  hath  come  in  with  a  thun- 
^derbolt  in  his  head,  instead  of  a  fat  buck  on  his 
shoulders !" 

"Speak  reverently,  girl,  of  that  thou  dost  not 
comprehend,"  said  Mark  Heathcote,  with  stern  au 
thority.  "Marvels  are  manifested  equally  to  the 
ignorant  and  to  the  learned;  and  although  vain- 


140  THE    WEPT 

minded  pretenders  to  philosophy  affirm,  that  the 
warring  of  the  elements  is  no  more  than  nature 
working  out  its  own  purification,  yet  do  we  know, 
from  all  ancient  authorities,  that  other  manifesta 
tions  are  therein  exhibited.  Satan  may  have  con 
trol  over  the  magazines  of  the  air ;  he  can  '  let  off 
the  ordnance  of  Heaven.'  That  '  the  Prince  of  the 
Powers  of  Darkness  hath  as  good  a  share  in  chem 
istry  as  goes  to  the  making  of  Aurum  Fulminans, 
is  asserted  by  one  of  the  wisest  writers  of  our  age." 

From  this  declaration,  and  more  particularly  from 
the  learning  discovered  in  the  Puritan's  speech, 
there  was  no  one  so  hardy  as  to  dissent.  Faith  was 
glad  to  shrink  back  among  the  bevy  of  awe-struck 
maidens;  while  Content,  after  a  sufficiently  re 
spectful  pause,  invited  the  woodsman,  who  was  yet 
teeming  with  the  most  important  part  of  his  com 
munication,  to  proceed. 

"  While  my  eye  was  searching  for  the  lightning, 
which  should  in  reason  have  attended  that  thun 
der,  had  it  been  uttered  in  the  manner  of  nature, 
the  buck  had  vanished ;  and  when  I  rushed  upon 
the  hillock,  in  order  to  keep  the  game  in  view,  a 
man  mounting  its  opposite  side  came  so  suddenly 
upon  me,  that  our  muskets  were  at  each  other's 
breasts  before  either  had  time  for  speech." 

"  What  manner  of  man  was  he  ?" 

"  So  far  as  human  judgment  might  determine,  he 
seemed  a  traveller,  who  was  endeavoring  to  push 
through  the  wilderness,  from  the  towns  below  to 
the  distant  settlements  of  the  Bay  Province ;  but  I 
account  it  exceeding  wonderful,  that  the  trail  of  a 
leaping  buck  should  have  brought  us  together  in  s» 
unwonted  a  manner !" 

"  And  didst  thou  see  aught  of  the  deer,  after  that 
encounter  ?" 

"  In  the  first  hurry  of  the  surprise,  it  did  certainly 
appear  as  if  an  animal  were  bounding  along  the 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  141 

wood  into  a  distant  thicket ;  but  it  is  known  how 
readily  one  may  be  led  by  seeming  probabilities 
into  a  false  conclusion,  and  so  I  account  that  glimpse 
as  delusion.  No  doubt,  the  animal,  having  done 
that  which  it  was  commissioned  to  perform,  did  then 
and  there  disappear,  in  the  manner  I  have  named." 

"  It  might  have  been  thus.  And  the  stranger — 
had  you  discourse  with  him,  before  parting?" 

"We  tarried  together  a  short  hour.  He  related 
much  marvellous  matter  of  the  experiences  of  the 
people,  near  the  sea.  According  to  the  testimony 
x)f  the  stranger,  the  Powers  of  Darkness  have  been 
manifested  in  the  Provinces  in  a  hideous  fashion. 
Numberless  of  the  believers  have  been  persecuted 
by  the  invisibles,  and  greatly  have  they  endured 
suffering,  both  in  soul  and  body." 

"  Of  all  this  have  I  witnessed  surprising  instan 
ces,  in  my  day,"  said  Mark  Heathcote,  breaking  the 
awful  stillness  that  succeeded  the  annunciation  of 
so  heavy  a  visitation  on  the  peace  of  the  Colony, 
with  his  deep-toned  and  imposing  voice.  "  Did  he, 
with  whom  you  conferred,  enter  into  the  particu 
lars  of  the  trials  ?" 

"  He  spoke  also  of  certain  other  signs  that  are 
thought  to  foretell  the  coming  of  trouble.  When  I 
named  the  weary  chase  that  I  had  made,  and  the 
sound  which  came  from  the  air,  he  said  that  these 
would  be  accounted  trifles  in  the  towns  of  the  Bay 
where  the  thunder  and  its  lightnings  had  done  much 
evil  work,  the  past  season ;  Satan  having  especially 
shown  his  spite,  by  causing  them  to  do  injury  to  the 
houses  of  the  Lord." 

"  There  has  long  been  reason  to  think  that  the 
pilgrimage  of  the  righteous,  into  these  wilds,  will 
be  visited  by  some  fierce  opposition  of  those  envious 
natures,  which,  fostering  evil  themselves,  cannot 
brook  to  look  upon  the  toiling  of  such  as  strive  to 
keep  the  narrow  path.  We  will  now  resort  to  the 


142  THE  WEPT 

only  weapon  it  is  permitted  us  to  wield  in  this  con 
troversy,  but  which,  when  handled  with  diligence 
and  zeal,  never  fails  to  lead  to  victory." 

So  saying,  without  waiting  to  hear  more  of  the 
tale  of  Eben  Dudley,  old  Mark  Heathcote  arose, 
arid  assuming  the  upright  attitude  usual  among  the 
people  of  his  sect,  he  addressed  himself  to  prayer. 
The  grave  and  awe-struck  but  deeply  confiding 
congregation  imitated  his  example,  and  the  lips  of 
the  Puritan  had  parted  in  the  act  of  utterance, 
when  a  low,  faltering  note,  like  that  produced  by  a 
wind  instrument,  rose  on  the  outer  air,  and  pene-.» 
trated  to  the  place  where  the  family  was  assembled. 
A  conch  was  suspended  at  the  postern,  in  readiness 
to  be  used  by  any  of  the  family  whom  accident  or 
occupation  should  detain  beyond  the  usual  hour  of 
closing  the  gates;  and  both  by  the  direction  and 
nature  of  this  interruption,  it  would  seem  that  an 
applicant  for  admission  stood  at  the  portal.  The  ef 
fect  on  the  auditors  was  general  and  instantaneous. 
Notwithstanding  the  recent  dialogue,  the  young  men 
involuntarily  sought  their  arms,  while  the  startled 
females  huddled  together  like  a  flock  of  trembling 
and  timid  deer. 

"  There  is,  of  a  certainty,  a  signal  from  without!" 
Content  at  length  observed,  after  waiting  to  suffer 
the  sounds  to  die  away  among  the  angles  of  the 
buildings.  "  Some  hunter,  who  hath  strayed  from 
his  path,  claimeth  hospitality." 

Eben  Dudley  shook  his  head  like  one  who  dis 
sented,  but,  having  with  all  the  other  youths  grasp 
ed  his  musket,  he  stood  as  undetermined  as  the  rest 
concerning  the  course  it  was  proper  to  pursue.  It 
is  uncertain  how  long  this  indecision  might  have 
continued,  had  no  further  summons  been  given ;  but 
he  without  appeared  too  impatient  of  delay  to  suf 
fer  much  time  to  be  lost.  The  conch  sounded  again, 
and  with  far  better  success  than  before.  The  blast 


OF    WISH-TON -WISH.  143 

was  longer,  louder,  and  bolder,  than  that  which  had 
first  pierced  the  walls  of  the  dwelling,  rising  full 
and  rich  on  the  air,  as  though  one  well  practised  in 
the  use  of  the  instrument  had  placed  lips  to  the 
shell. 

Content  would  scarcely  have  presumed  to  disobey 
a  mandate  coming  from  his  father,  had  it  been  little 
in  conformity  with  his  own  intentions.  But  second 
thoughts  had  already  shown  him  the  necessity  of 
decision,  and  he  was  in  the  act  of  motioning  to 
Dudley  and  Reuben  Ring  to  follow,  when  the  Puri 
tan  bade  him  look  to  the  matter.  Making  a  sign 
for  the  rest  of  the  family  to  remain  where  they 
were,  and  arming  himself  with  a  musket  which  had 
more  than  once  that  day  been  proved  to  be  of  cer 
tain  aim,  he  led  the  way  to  the  postern  which  has 
already  been  so  often  mentioned. 

"  Who  sounds  at  my  gate  ?"  demanded  Content, 
when  he  and  his  followers  had  gained  a  position, 
under  cover  of  a  low  earthen  mound  erected  ex 
pressly  for  the  purpose  of  commanding  the  entrance ; 
"who  summons  a  peaceful  family,  at  this  hour  of 
the  night,  to  their  outer  defences  ?" 

"  One  who  hath  need  of  what  he  asketh,  or  he 
would  not  disturb  thy  quiet,"  was  the  answer. 
"  Open  the  postern,  Master  Heathcote,  without  fear; 
it  is  a  brother  in  the  faith,  and  a  subject  of  the 
same  laws,  that  asketh  the  boon." 

"Here  is  truly  a  Christian  man  without,"  said 
Content,  hurrying  to  the  postern ;  which,  without  a 
moment's  delay,  he  threw  freely  open,  saying  as  he 
did  so,  "  enter  of  Heaven's  mercy,  and  be  welcome 
to  that  we  have  to  bestow." 

A  tall,  and,  by  his  tread,  a  heavy  man,  wrapped 
in  a  riding-cloak,  bowed  to  the  greeting,  and  im 
mediately  passed  beneath  the  low  lintel.  Every 
eye  was  keenly  fastened  on  the  stranger,  who,  after 
ascending  the  acclivity  a  short  distance,  paused, 


144  THE    WEPT 

while  the  young  men,  under  their  master's  orders, 
carefully  and  scrupulously  renewed  the  fastenings  of 
the  gate.  When  bolts  and  bars  had  done  their  office, 
Content  joined  his  guest ;  and  after  making  another 
fruitless  effort,  by  the  feeble  light  which  fell  from 
the  stars,  to  scan  his  person,  he  said,  in  his  own 
meek  and  quiet  manner — 

"Thou  must  have  great  need  of  warmth  and 
nourishment.  The  distance  from  this  valley  to  the 
nearest  habitation  is  wearisome,  and  one  who  hath 
journeyed  it,  in  a  season  like  this,  may  well  be  nigh 
fainting.  Follow,  and  deal  with  that  we  have  to 
bestow  as  freely  as  if  it  were  thine  own." 

Although  the  stranger  manifested  none  of  that 
impatience  which  the  heir  of  the  Wish-Ton-Wish 
appeared  to  think  one  so  situated  might  in  all  rea 
son  feel,  thus  invited  he  did  not  hesitate  to  comply. 
As  he  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  his  host,  his  tread, 
however,  was  leisurely  and  dignified ;  and  once  or 
twice,  when  the  other  half  delayed  in  order  to 
make  some  passing  observation  of  courtesy,  he  be 
trayed  no  indiscreet  anxiety  to  enter  on  those  per 
sonal  indulgences  which  might  in  reality  prove  so 
grateful  to  one  who  had  journeyed  far  in  an  in 
clement  season,  and  along  a  road  where  neither 
dwelling  nor  security  invited  repose. 

"Here  is  warmth  and  a  peaceful  welcome,"  pur 
sued  Content,  ushering  his  guest  into  the  centre  of 
a  group  of  fearfully  anxious  faces.  "In  a  little  time, 
other  matters  shall  be  added  to  thy  comfort." 

When  the  stranger  found  himself  under  the  glare 
of  a  powerful  light,  and  confronted  to  so  many 
curious  and  wondering  eyes,  for  a  single  instant  he 
hesitated.  Then  stepping  calmly  forward,  he  cast 
the  short  riding-cloak,  which  had  closely  muffled 
his  features,  from  his  shoulders,  and  discovered  the 
severe  eye,  the  stern  lineaments,  and  the  athletic 
form  of  him  who  had  once  before  been  known  to 


or  WISH-TON-WISH.  145 

enter  the  doors  of  Wish-Ton-Wish  with  little  warn 
ing,  and  to  have  quitted  them  so  mysteriously. 

The  Puritan  had  arisen,  with  quiet  and  grave 
courtesy,  to  receive  his  visiter;  but  obvious,  power 
ful,  and  extraordinary  interest  gleamed  about  his 
usually  subdued  visage,  when,  as  the  features  of 
the  other  were  exposed  to  view,  he  recognised  the 
person  of  the  man  who  advanced  to  meet  him. 

"Mark  Heathcote,"  said  the  stranger,  "my  visit 
is  to  thee.  It  may,  or  it  may  not,  prove  longer  than 
the  last,  as  thou  shalt  receive  my  tidings.  Affairs 
of  the  last  moment  demand  that  there  should  be 
little  delay  in  hearing  that  which  I  have  to  offer." 

Notwithstanding  the  excess  and  nature  of  the 
surprise  which  the  veteran  Mark  had  certainly  be 
trayed,  it  endured  just  long  enough  to  allow  those 
wondering  eyes,  which  were  eagerly  devouring  all 
that  passed,  to  note  its  existence.  Then,  the  sub 
dued  and  characteristic  manner,  which  in  general 
marked  his  air,  instantly  returned,  and  with  a  quiet 
gesture,  like  that  which  friends  use  in  moments  of 
confidence  and  security,  he  beckoned  to  the  other 
to  follow  to  an  inner  room.  The  stranger  complied, 
making  a  slight  bow  of  recognition  to  Ruth,  as  he 
passed  her  on  the  way  to  the  apartment  chosen  for 
an  interview  that  was  evidently  intended  to  be 
private. 


146  THE   WEPT 


CHAPTER  X. 


"Mar.  Shall  I  strike  at  it  with  my  partizan. 
Hor.  Do,  if  it  will  not  stand. 
Mar.  'Tis  here  1 

Hor.  'Tisherel 
Mar.  'Tis  gone  I" 

HAMLET. 

THE  time  that  this  unexpected  visiter  stood  im- 
cloaked  and  exposed  to  recognition,  before  the  eyes 
of  the  curious  group  in  the  outer  room,  did  not  much 
exceed  a  minute.  Still  it  was  long  enough  to  allow 
men  who  rarely  overlooked  the  smallest  peculiarity 
of  dress  or  air,  to  note  some  of  the  more  distinguish 
ing  accompaniments  of  his  attire.  The  heavy  horse 
man's  pistols,  once  before  exhibited,  were  in  his 
girdle,  and  young  Mark  got  a  glimpse  of  a  silver- 
handled  dagger  which  had  pleased  his  eye  before 
that  night.  But  the  passage  of  his  grandfather  and 
the  stranger  from  the  room  prevented  the  boy  from 
determining  whether  it  was  entirely  of  the  same 
fashion  as  that,  which,  rather  as  a  memorial  of  by 
gone  scenes  than  for  any  service  that  it  might  now 
be  expected  to  perform,  hung  above  the  bed  of  the 
former. 

"  The  man  hath  not  yet  parted  with  his  arms  !" 
exclaimed  the  quick-sighted  youth,  when  he  found 
that  every  other  tongue  continued  silent.  "  I  would 
he  may  now  leave  them  with  my  grand'ther,  that 
I  may  chase  the  skulking  Wampanoag  to  his  hid 
ing—" 

"  Hot-headed  boy !  Thy  tongue  is  too  much  given 
to  levity,"  said  Ruth,  who  had  not  only  resumed  her 
seat,  but  the  light  employment  that  had  been  inter 
rupted  by  the  blast  at  the  gate,  with  a  calmness  of 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  147 

mien  that  did  not  fail  in  some  degree  to  reassure 
her  maidens.  "  Instead  of  cherishing  the  lessons  of 
peace  that  are  taught  thee,  thy  unruly  thoughts 
are  ever  bent  on  strife." 

"  Is  there  harm  in  wishing  to  be  armed  with  a 
weapon  suited  to  my  years,  that  I  may  do  service 
in  beating  down  the  power  of  our  enemies ;  and  per 
haps  aid  something,  too,  in  affording  security  to  my 
mother  ?" 

"  Thy  mother  hath  no  fears,"  returned  the  ma 
tron  gravely,  while  grateful  affection  prompted  a 
kind  but  furtive  glance  towards  the  high-spirited 
though  sometimes  froward  lad.  "  Reason  hath  al 
ready  taught  me  the  folly  of  alarm,  because  one 
has  knocked  at  our  gate  in  the  night-season.  Lay 
aside  thy  arms,  men ;  you  see  that  my  husband  no 
longer  clings  to  the  musket.  Be  certain  that  his  eye 
will  give  us  warning,  when  there  shall  be  danger  at 
hand." 

The  unconcern  of  her  husband  was  even  more 
strikingly  true,  than  the  simple  language  of  his  wife 
would  appear  to  convey.  Content  had  not  only  laid 
aside  his  weapon,  but  he  had  resumed  his  seat  near 
the  fire,  with  an  air  as  calm,  as  assured,  and  it  might 
have  seemed  to  one  watchfully  observant,  as  under 
standing,  as  her  own.  Until  now,  the  stout  Dudley 
had  remained  leaning  on  his  piece,  immovable  and 
apparently  unconscious  as  a  statue.  But,  following 
the  injunctions  of  one  he  was  accustomed  to  obey, 
he  placed  the  musket  against  the  wall,  with  the  care 
of  a  hunter,  and  then  running  a  hand  through  his 
shaggy  locks,  as  though  the  action  might  quicken 
ideas  that  were  never  remarkably  active,  he  bluntly 
exclaimed — 

"  An  armed  hand  is  well  in  these  forests,  but  an 
armed  heel  is  not  less  wanting  to  him  who  would 
push  a  roadster  from  the  Connecticut  to  the  Wish- 
Ton-Wish,  between  a  rising  and  a  setting  sun  !  The 


}4£  THE    WEPT 

stranger  no  longer  journeys  in  the  saddle,  as  is  plain 
by  the  sign  that  his  boot  beareth  no  spur.  When  he 
worried,  by  dint  of  hard  pricking,  the  miserable 
hack  that  proved  food  for  the  wolves,  through 
the  forest,  he  had  better  appointments.  I  saw  the 
bones  of  the  animal  no  later  than  this  day.  They 
have  been  polished  by  fowls  and  frost,  till  the  driven 
snow  of  the  mountains  is  not  whiter !" 

Meaning  and  uneasy,  but  hasty  glances  of  the  eye 
were  exchanged  between  Content  and  Ruth,  as  Eben 
Dudley  thus  uttered  the  thoughts  which  had  been 
suggested  by  the  unexpected  return  of  the  stranger. 

"  Go  you  to  the  look-out  at  the  western  palisa- 
does,"  said  the  latter ;  "  and  see  if  perchance  the 
Indian  may  not  be  lurking  near  the  dwellings, 
ashamed  of  his  delay,  and  perchance  fearful  of  call 
ing  us  to  his  admission.  I  cannot  think  that  the  child 
means  to  desert  us,  with  no  sign  of  kindness,  and 
without  leave-taking." 

"  I  will  not  take  upon  me  to  say,  how  much 
or  how  little  of  ceremony  the  youngster  may  fancy 
to  be  due  to  the  master  of  the  valley  and  his  kin ; 
but  if  not  gone  already,  the  snow  will  not  melt  more 
quietly  in  the  thaw,  than  the  lad  will  one  day  dis 
appear.  Reuben  Ring,  thou  hast  an  eye  for  light 
or  darkness ;  come  forth  with  me,  that  no  sign  es 
cape  us.  Should  thy  sister,  Faith,  make  one  of  our 
party,  it  would  not  be  easy  for  the  red-skin  to  pass 
the  clearing  without  a  hail." 

"  Go  to,"  hurriedly  answered  the  female ;  "  it  is 
more  womanly  that  I  tarry  to  see  to  the  wants  of  him 
who  hath  journeyed  far  and  hard,  since  the  rising 
of  the  sun.  If  the  boy  pass  thy  vigilance,  wake 
ful  Dudley,  he  will  have  little  cause  to  fear  that  of 
others." 

Though  Faith  so  decidedly  declined  to  make  one 
of  the  party,  her  brother  complied  without  reluc 
tance.  The  young  men  were  about  to  quit  the  place 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  149 

together ;  when  the  latch,  on  which  the  hand  of 
Dudley  was  already  laid,  rose  quietly  without  aid 
from  his  finger,  the  door  opened,  and  the  object  of 
their  intended  search  glided  past  them,  and  took  his 
customary  position  in  one  of  the  more  retired  cor 
ners  of  the  room.  There  was  so  much  of  the  ordi 
nary,  noiseless  manner  of  the  young  captive  in  this 
entrance,  that  for  a  moment  they  who  witnessed  the 
passage  of  his  dark  form  across  the  apartment,  were 
led  to  think  the  movement  no  more  than  the  visit 
he  was  always  permitted  to  make  at  that  hour.  But 
recollection  soon  came,  and  with  it  not  only  the  sus 
picious  circumstance  of  his  disappearance,  but  the 
inexplicable  manner  of  his  admission  within  the 
gates. 

"The  pickets  must  be  looked  to!"  exclaimed 
Dudley,  the  instant  a  second  look  assured  him  that 
his  eyes  in  truth  beheld  him  who  had  been  missing. 
"  The  place  that  a  stripling  can  scale,  might  well 
admit  a  host." 

"  Truly,"  said  Content,  "  this  needeth  explana 
tion.  Hath  not  the  boy  entered  when  the  gate  was 
opened  for  the  stranger? — Here  cometh  one  that 
may  speak  to  the  fact !" 

"  It  is  so,"  said  the  individual  named,  who  re-en 
tered  from  the  inner  room  in  season  to  hear  the  na 
ture  of  the  remark.  "  I  found  this  native  child  near 
thy  gate,  and  took  upon  me  the  office  of  a  Christian 
man  to  bid  him  welcome.  Certain  am  I,  that  one, 
kind  of  heart  and  gently  disposed,  like  the  mistress 
of  this  family,  will  not  turn  him  away  in  anger." 

"He  is  no  stranger  at  our  fire,  or  at  our  board," 
gaid  Ruth;  "had  it  been  otherwise,  thou  wouldst 
have  done  well." 

Eben  Dudley  looked  incredulous.  His  mind  had 
been  powerfully  exercised  that  day  with  visions  of 
the  marvellous,  and,  of  a  certainty,  there  was  some 
13* 


150  THE  WEPT 

reason  to  distrust  the  manner  in  which  the  re-ap 
pearance  of  the  youth  had  been  made. 

"  It  will  be  well  to  look  to  the  fastenings,"  he 
muttered,  "lest  others,  less  easy  to  dispose  of,  should 
follow.  Now  that  invisible  agencies  are  at  work  in 
the  Colony,  one  may  not  sleep  too  soundly!" 

"Then  go  thou  to  the  look-out,  and  keep  the 
watch,  till  the  clock  shall  strike  the  hour  of  mid 
night  ;"  said  the  Puritan,  who  uttered  the  command 
in  a  manner  to  show  that  he  was  in  truth  moved 
by  considerations  far  deeper  than  the  vague  appre 
hensions  of  his  dependant.  "  Ere  sleep  overcome 
fchee,  another  shall  be  ready  for  the  relief." 

Mark  Heathcote  seldom  spoke,  but  respectful 
silence  permitted  the  lowest  of  his  syllables  to  be 
audible.  On  the  present  occasion,  when  his  voice 
was  first  heard,  such  a  stillness  came  over  all  in 
presence,  that  he  finished  the  sentence  amid  the 
nearly  imperceptible  breathings  of  the  listeners. 
[n  this  momentary  but  death-like  quiet,  there  arose 
a  blast  from  the  ronch  at  the  gate,  that  might  have 
seemed  an  echo  of  that  which  had  so  lately  startled 
the  already-excited  inmates  of  the  dwelling.  At  the 
repetition  of  sounds  so  unwonted,  all  sprang  to  their 
feet,  but  no  one  spoke.  Content  cast  a  hurried  and 
inquiring  glance  at  his  father,  who  in  his  turn  had 
anxiously  sought  the  eye  of  the  stranger.  The  lat 
ter  stood  firm  and  unmoved.  One  hand  was  clenched 
upon  the  back  of  the  chair  from  which  he  had 
arisen,  and  the  other  grasped,  perhaps  unconsciously, 
the  handle  of  one  of  those  weapons  which  had  at 
tracted  the  attention  of  young  Mark,  and  which 
still  continued  thrust  through  the  broad  leathern 
belt  that  girded  his  doublet. 

"  The  sound  is  like  that,  which  one  little  used  to 
deal  with  earthly  instruments  might  raise !"  mut 
tered  one  of  those  whose  mind  had  been  prepared, 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  151 

by  the  narrative  of  Dudley,  to  believe  in  any  thing 
marvellous. 

"  Come  from  what  quarter  it  may,  it  is  a  sum 
mons  that  must  be  answered ;"  returned  Content. 
" Dudley,  thy  musket;  this  visit  is  so  unwonted, 
that  more  than  one  hand  should  do  the  office  of 
porter." 

The  borderer  instantly  complied,  muttering  be 
tween  his  teeth  as  he  shook  the  priming  deeper  into 
the  barrel  of  his  piece, "  Your  over-sea  gallants  are 
quick  on  the  trail  to-night !"  Then  throwing  the 
musket  into  the  hollow  of  his  arm.  he  cast  a  look 
of  discontent  and  resentment  towards  Faith  Ring, 
and  was  about  to  open  the  door  for  the  passage  of 
Content,  when  another  blast  arose  on  the  silence 
without.  The  second  touch  of  the  shell  was  firmer, 
longer,  louder,  and  more  true,  than  that  by  which 
it  had  just  been  preceded, 

"One  might  fancy  the  conch  was  speaking  in 
mockery,"  observed  Content,  looking  with  meaning 
towards  their  guest.  "  Never  did  sound  more  re 
semble  sound  than  these  we  have  just  heard,  and 
those  thou  drew  from  the  shell  when  asking  admis 
sion." 

A  sudden  light  appeared  to  break  in  upon  the 
intelligence  of  the  stranger.  Advancing  more  into 
the  circle,  rather  with  the  freedom  of  long  famili 
arity  than  with  the  diffidence  of  a  newly-arrived 
guest,  he  motioned  for  silence  as  he  said — 

"  Let  none  move,  but  this  stout  woodsman,  the 
young  captain  and  myself.  We  will  go  forth,  and 
doubt  not  that  the  safety  of  those  within  shall  be 
regarded." 

Notwithstanding  the  singularity  of  this  proposal, 
as  it  appeared  to  excite  neither  surprise  nor  opposi 
tion  in  the  Puritan  or  his  son,  the  rest  of  the  family 
offered  no  objection.  The  stranger  had  no  sooner 
spoken,  than  he  advanced  near  to  the  torch,  and 


152  THE    WEPT 

looked  closely  into  the  condition  of  his  pistols.  Then 
turning  to  old  Mark,  he  continued  in  an  under  tone— 

"  Peradventure  there  will  be  more  worldly  strife 
than  any  which  can  flow  from  the  agencies  that 
stir  up  the  unquiet  spirits  of  the  Colonies.  In  such 
an  extremity,  it  may  be  well  to  observe  a  soldier's 
caution." 

"  T  like  not  this  mockery  of  sound,"  returned 
the  Puritan ;  "  it  argueth  a  taunting  and  fiend-like 
temper.  We  have,  of  late,  had  in  this  Colony 
tragical  instances  of  what  the  disappointed  malice 
of  Azazel  can  attempt ;  and  it  would  be  vain  to 
hope  that  the  evil  agencies  are  not  vexed  with  the 
sight  of  my  Bethel." 

Though  the  stranger  listened  to  the  words  of  his 
host  with  respect,  it  was  plain  that  his  thoughts 
dwelt  on  dangers  of  a  different  character.  The 
member  that  still  rested  on  the  handle  of  his  weapon, 
was  clenched  with  greater  firmness ;  and  a  grim, 
though  a  melancholy  expression  was  seated  about 
a  mouth,  that  was  compressed  in  a  manner  to  denote 
the  physical,  rather  than  the  spiritual  resolution  of 
the  man.  He  made  a  sign  to  the  two  companions 
he  had  chosen,  and  led  the  way  to  the  court. 

By  this  time,  the  shades  of  night  had  materially 
thickened,  and,  although  the  hour  was  still  early,  a 
darkness  had  come  over  the  valley  that  rendered  it 
difficult  to  distinguish  objects  at  any  distance  from 
the  eye.  The  obscurity  made  it  necessary  that 
they,  who  now  issued  from  the  door  of  the  dwelling, 
should  advance  with  caution,  lest,  ere  properly  ad 
monished  of  its  presence,  their  persons  should  be 
exposed  to  some  lurking  danger.  When  the  three, 
however,  were  safely  established  behind  the  thick 
curtain  of  plank  and  earth  that  covered  and  com 
manded  the  entrance,  and  where  their  persons,  from 
the  shoulders  downward,  were  completely  protected, 
alike  from  shot  and  arrow,  Content  demanded  to 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  153 

know,  who  applied  at  his  gates'  for  admission  at  an 
hour  when  they  were  habitually  closed  for  the 
night.  Instead  of  receiving,  as  before,  a  ready 
answer,  the  silence  was  so  profound,  that  his  own 
words  were  very  distinctly  heard  repeated,  as  was 
not  uncommon  at  that  quiet  hour,  among  the  re 
cesses  of  the  neighboring  woods. 

"  Come  it  from  Devil,  or  come  it  from  man,  here 
is  treachery  !"  whispered  the  stranger  after  a  fitting 
pause.  "  Artifice  must  be  met  by  artifice;  but  thou 
art  much  abler  to  advise  against  the  wiles  of  the 
forest,  than  one  trained,  as  I  have  been,  in  the  less 
cunning  deceptions  of  Christian  warfare." 

"  What  think'st,  Dudley?"  asked  Content—"  Will 
it  be  well  to  sally,  or  shall  we  wait  another  signal 
from  the  conch  ?" 

"  Much  dependeth  on  the  quality  of  the  guests 
expected,"  returned  he  of  whom  counsel  was  asked. 
*  As  for  the  braggart  gallants,  that  are  over-valiant 
among  the  maidens,  and  heavy  of  heart  when  they 
think  the  screech  of  the  jay  an  Indian  whoop,  I  care 
not  if  ye  beat  the  pickets  to  the  earth,  and  call 
upon  them  to  enter  on  the  gallop.  I  know  the 
manner  to  send  them  to  the  upper  story  of  the 
block,  quicker  than  the  cluck  of  the  turkey  can 
muster  its  young ;  but " 

"  'Tis  well  to  be  discreet  in  language,  in  a  moment 
of  such  serious  uncertainty!"  interrupted  the  stran 
ger.  "  We  look  for  no  gallants  of  the  kind." 

"  Then  will  I  give  you  a  conceit  that  shall  know 
the  reason  of  the  music  of  yon  conch.  Go  ye  two 
back  into  the  house,  making  much  conversation  by 
the  way,  in  order  that  any  without  may  hear. 
When  ye  have  entered,  it  shall  be  my  task  to  find 
such  a  post  nigh  the  gate,  that  none  shall  knock 
again,  and  no  porter  be  at  hand  to  question  them 
in  the  matter  of  their  errand." 

"This  soundeth  better,"  said  Content;  "and  that 


154  THE    WEPT 

it  may  be  done  with  all  safety,  some  others  of  the 
young  men,  who  are  accustomed  to  this  species  of 
artifice,  shall  issue  by  the  secret  door  and  lie  in  wait 
behind  the  dwellings,  in  order  that  support  shall 
not  be  wanting  in  case  of  violence.  Whatever  else 
thou  dost,  Dudley,  remember  that  thou  dost  not 
undo  the  fastenings  of  the  postern." 

"Look  to  the  support,"  returned  the  woodsman; 
"  should  it  be  keen-eyed  Reuben  Ring,  I  shall  feel 
none  the  less  certain  that  good  aid  is  at  my  back. 
The  whole  of  that  family  are  quick,  of  wit  and 
ready  of  invention,  unless  it  may  be  the  wight  who 
hath  got  the  form  without  the  reason  of  a  man." 

"  Thou  shalt  have  Reuben,  and  none  other  of  his 
kin,"  said  Content.  "  Be  well  advised  of  the  fasten 
ings,  and  so  I  wish  thee  all  fitting  success,  in  a  de 
ception  that  cannot  be  sinful,  since  it  aims  only  at 
our  safety." 

With  this  injunction,  Content  and  the  stranger 
left  Dudley  to  the  practice  of  his  own  devices,  the 
former  observing  the  precaution  to  speak  aloud 
while  returning,  in  order  that  any  listeners  without 
might  be  led  to  suppose  the  whole  party  had  retired 
from  the  search,  satisfied  of  its  fruitlessness. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  youth  left  nigh  the  postern 
set  about  the  accomplishment  of  the  task  he  had 
undertaken,  in  sober  earnest.  Instead  of  descending 
in  a  direct  line  to  the  palisadoes,  he  also  ascended, 
and  made  a  circuit  among  the  out-buildings  on  the 
margin  of  the  acclivity.  Then  bending  so  low  as 
to  blend  his  form  with  objects  on  the  snow,  he  gained 
an  angle  of  the  palisadoes,  at  a  point  remote  from 
the  spot  he  intended  to  watch,  and,  as  he  hoped, 
aided  by  the  darkness  of  the  hour  and  the  shadows 
of  the  hill,  completely  protected  from  observation. 
When  beneath  the  palisadoes,  the  sentinel  crouched 
to  the  earth,  creeping  with  extreme  caution  along 
the  timber  which  bound  their  lower  ends,  until  he 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  155 

found  himself  arrived  at  a  species  of  sentry-box, 
that  was  erected  for  the  very  purpose  to  which  he 
now  intended  it  should  be  applied.  Once  within  the 
cover  of  this  little  recess,  the  sturdy  woodsman 
bestowed  his  large  frame,  with  as  much  attention 
to  comfort  and  security  as  the  circumstances  would 
permit.  Here  he  prepared  to  pass  many  weary 
minutes,  before  there  should  be  further  need  of  his 
services. 

The  reader  will  find  no  difficulty  in  believing 
that  one  of  opinions  like  those  of  the  borderer,  did 
not  enter  on  his  silent  watch  without  much  distrust 
of  the  character  of  the  guests  that  he  might  be 
called  upon  to  receive.  Enough  has  been  shown  to 
prove  that  the  suspicion  uppermost  in  his  mind  was, 
that  the  unwelcome  agents  of  the  government  had 
returned  on  the  heels  of  the  stranger.  But,  not 
withstanding  the  seeming  probability  of  this  opin 
ion,  there  were  secret  misgivings  of  the  earthly 
origin  of  the  two  last  windings  of  the  shell.  All  the 
legends,  and  all  the  most  credited  evidence  in  cases 
of  prestigious  agency,  as  it  had  been  exhibited  in 
the  colonies  of  New-England,  went  to  show  the 
malignant  pleasure  the  Evil  Spirits  found,  in  in 
dulging  their  wicked  mockeries,  or  in  otherwise  tor 
menting  those  who  placed  their  support  on  a  faith, 
that  was  believed  to  be  so  repugnant  to  their  own 
ungrateful  and  abandoned  natures.  Under  the  im 
pressions,  naturally  excited  by  the  communication 
he  had  held  with  the  traveller  in  the  mountains, 
Eben  Dudley  found  his  mind  equally  divided  be 
tween  the  expectation  of  seeing,  at  each  moment, 
one  of  the  men  whom  he  had  induced  to  quit  the 
valley  so  unceremoniously,  returning  to  obtain,  sur 
reptitiously,  admission  within  the  gate,  or  of  being 
made  an  unwilling  witness  of  some  wicked  manifes 
tation  of  that  power  which  was  temporarily  com 
mitted  to  the  invisibles.  In  both  of  these  expecta- 


156  THE    WEPT 

tions,  however,  he  was  fated  to  be  disappointed. 
Notwithstanding  the  strong  spiritual  bias  of  the 
opinions  of  the  credulous  sentinel,  there  was  too 
much  of  the  dross  of  temporal  things  in  his  compo 
sition,  to  elevate  him  altogether  above  the  weak 
ness  of  humanity.  A  mind  so  encumbered  began 
to  weary  with  its  own  contemplations;  and,  as  it 
grew  feeble  with  its  extraordinary  efforts,  the 
dominion  of  matter  gradually  resumed  its  sway. 
Thought,  instead  of  being  clear  and  active,  as  the 
emergency  would  have  seemed  to  require,  began  to 
grow  misty.  Once  or  twice  the  borderer  half  arose, 
and  appeared  to  look  about  him  with  observation ; 
and  then,  as  his  large  frame  fell  heavily  back  into 
its  former  semi-recumbent  attitude,  he  grew  tran 
quil  and  stationary.  This  movement  was  several 
times  repeated,  at  intervals  of  increasing  length, 
till,  at  the  end  of  an  hour,  forgetting  alike  the  hunt, 
the  troopers,  and  the  mysterious  agents  of  evil,  the 
young  man  yielded  to  the  fatigue  of  the  day.  The 
tall  oaks  of  the  adjoining  forest  stood  not  more  im 
movable  in  the  quiet  of  the  tranquil  hour,  than  his 
frame  now  leaned  against  the  side  of  its  narrow 
habitation. 

How  much  time  was  thus  lost  in  inactivity,  Eben 
Dudley  could  never  precisely  tell.  He  always 
stoutly  maintained  it  could  not  have  been  long,  since 
his  watch  was  not  disturbed  by  the  smallest  of  those 
sounds  from  the  woods,  which  sometimes  occur  in 
deep  night,  and  which  may  be  termed  the  breathing 
of  the  forest  in  its  slumbers.  His  first  distinct  re 
collection,  was  that  of  feeling  a  hand  grasped  with 
the  power  of  a  giant.  Springing  to  his  feet,  the 
young  man  eagerly  stretched  forth  an  arm,  saying 
as  he  did  so,  in  words  sufficiently  confused — 

"  If  the  buck  hath  fallen  by  a  shot  in  the  head, 
I  grant  him  to  be  thine,  Reuben  Ring;  but  if  struck 


OF  WISH- TON-WISH.  157 

in  limb  or  bodv,  I  claim  the  venison  for  a  surer 
hand." 

"  Truly,  a  very  just  division  of  the  spoil,"  return 
ed  one  in  an  under  tone,  and  speaking  as  if  sounds 
too  loud  might  be  dangerous.  "  Thou  givest  the 
head  of  the  deer  for  a  target  to  Reuben  Ring,  and 
Keepest  the  rest  of  the  creature  to  thine  own  uses." 

"  Who  hath  sent  thee,  at  this  hour,  to  the  pos 
tern  ?  Dost  not  know  that  there  are  thought  to  be 
strangers,  outlying  in  the  fields  ?" 

"  I  know  that  there  are  some,  who  are  not  stran 
gers,  in-lying  on  their  watch !"  said  Faith  Ring. 
"  What  shame  would  come  upon  thee,  Dudley,  did 
%he  Captain,  and  they  who  have  been  so  strongly 
exercised  in  prayer  within,  but  suspect  how  little 
care  thou  hast  had  of  their  safety,  the  while !" 

"Have  they  come  to  harm?  If  the  Captain  hath 
held  them  to  spiritual  movements,  I  hope  he  wil. 
allow  that  nothing  earthly  hath  passed  this  postern 
to  disturb  the  exercise.  As  I  hope  to  be  dealt  hon 
estly  by,  in  all  matters  of  character,  I  have  not 
once  quitted  the  gate,  since  the  watch  was  set." 

"  Else  wouldst  thou  be  the  famousest  sleep-walker 
in  the  Connecticut  Colony !  Why,  drowsy  one,  conch 
cannot  raise  a  louder  blast  than  that  thou  soundest, 
when  eyes  are  fairly  shut  in  sleep.  This  may  be 
watching,  according  to  thy  meaning  of  the  word ; 
but  infant  in  its  cradle  is  not  half  so  ignorant  of 
that  which  passeth  around  it,  as  thou  hast  been." 

"  I  think,  Faith  Ring,  that  thou  hast  gotten  to 
be  much  given  to  backbiting,  and  evil  saying  against 
friends,  since  the  visit  of  the  gallants  from  over 
sea." 

"  Out  upon  the  gallants  from  over  sea,  and  thee 
too,  man !  I  am  not  a  girl  to  be  flouted  with  bold 
speech  from  one  who  doth  not  know  whether  he  be 
sleeping  or  waking.  I  tell  thee,  thy  good  name 
would  be  lost  in  the  family,  did  it  come  to  the  ears 
14 


158  THE  WEPT 

of  the  Captain,  and  more  particularly  to  the  know 
ledge  of  that  soldier  stranger,  up  in  the  dwelling,  of 
whom  even  the  Madam  maketh  so  great  ceremony  ? 
that  thou  hast  been  watching  with  a  tuneful  nose, 
an  open  mouth,  and  a  sealed  eye." 

"  If  any  but  thee  hadst  said  this  slander  of  me, 
girl,  it  would  go  nigh  to  raise  hot  speech  between 
us !  Thy  brother,  Reuben  Ring,  knows  better  than 
to  stir  my  temper,  by  such  falsity  of  accusation." 

"  Thou  dealest  so  generously  by  him,  that  he  is 
prone  to  forget  thy  misdeeds.  Truly  he  hath  the 
head  of  the  buck,  while  thou  contentest  thyself  with 
the  offals  and  all  the  less  worthy  parts !  Go  to,  Dud- 
ley;  thou  wast  in  a  heavy  dream  when  I  caused 
thee  to  awake." 

"A  pretty  time  have  we  fallen  upon,  when  petti 
coats  are  used  instead  of  beards  and  strong-armed 
men,  to  go  the  rounds  of  the  sentinels,  and  to  say 
who  sleepeth  and  who  is  watchful !  What  hath 
brought  thee  so  far  from  the  exercises  and  so  nigh 
the  gates,  Mistress  Faith,  now  that  there  is  no  over 
sea  gallant  to  soothe  thy  ears  with  lying  speech 
and  light  declarations." 

"If  speech  not  to  be  credited  is  that  I  seek,"  re 
turned  the  girl,  "truly  the  errand  hath  not  been 
without  its  reward.  What  brought  me  hither,  sooth! 
why,  the  Madam  hath  need  of  articles  from  the 
outer  buttery — and — ay — and  my  ears  led  me  to 
the  postern.  Thou  knowest,  musical  Dudley,  that 
I  have  had  occasion  to  hearken  to  thy  watchful 
notes  before  this  night.  But  my  time  is  too  useful 
to  be  wasted  in  idleness ;  thou  art  now  awake,  and 
may  thank  her  who  hath  done  thee  a  good  turn 
with  no  wish  to  boast  of  it,  that  one  of  a  black 
beard  is  not  the  laughing-stock  of  all  the  youths  in 
the  family.  If  thou  keepest  thine  own  counsel,  the 
Captain  may  yet  praise  thee  for  a  vigilant  sentinel ; 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  159 

though  Heaven  forgive  him  the  wrong  he  will  do 
the  truth !" 

"Perhaps  a  little  anger  at  unjust  suspicions  may 
have  prompted  more  than  the  matter  needed,  Faith, 
when  I  taxed  thee  with  the  love  of  backbiting,  and 
I  do  now  recall  that  word;  though  I  will  ever  deny 
that  aught  more,  than  some  wandering  recollection 
concerning  the  hunt  of  this  day,  hath  come  over 
my  thoughts,  and  perhaps  made  me  even  forgetful 
that  it  was  needful  to  be  silent  at  the  postern ;  and 
therefore,  on  the  truth  of  a  Christian  man,  I  do  for 
give  thee,  the " 

But  Faith  was  already  out  of  sight  and  out  of 
hearing.  Dudley  himself,  who  began  to  have  certain 
prickings  of  conscience  concerning  the  ingratitude 
he  had  manifested  to  one  who  had  taken  so  much 
interest  in  his  reputation,  now  bethought  him  se 
riously  of  that  which  remained  to  be  done.  He  had 
much  reason  to  suspect  that  there  was  less  of  the 
night  before  him  than  he  had  at  first  believed,  and 
he  became  in  consequence  more  sensible  of  the  ne 
cessity  of  making  some  report  of  the  events  of  his 
watch.  Accordingly,  he  cast  a  scrutinizing  glance 
around,  in  order  to  make  sure  that  the  facts  should 
not  contradict  his  testimony,  and  then,  first  exam 
ining  the  fastenings  of  the  postern,  he  mounted  the 
hill,  and  presented  himself  before  the  family.  The 
members  of  the  latter,  having  in  truth  passed  most 
of  the  long  interval  of  his  absence  in  spiritual  ex 
ercises,  and  in  religious  conversation,  were  not  so 
sensible  of  his  delay  in  reporting,  as  they  might 
otherwise  have  been. 

"What  tidings  dost  thou  bring  us  from  without?" 
said  Content,  so  soon  as  the  self-relieved  sentinel 
appeared.  "Hast  seen  any,  or  hast  heard  that 
which  is  suspicious  1" 

Ere  Dudley  would  answer,  his  eye  did  not  fail  to 
study  the  half-malicious  expression  of  the  counte- 


160  THE    WEPT 

nance  of  her  who  was  busy  in  some  domestic  toil, 
directly  opposite  to  the  place  where  he  stood.  But 
reading  there  no  more  than  a  glance  of  playful 
though  smothered  irony,  he  was  encouraged  to  pro 
ceed  in  his  report. 

"The  watch  has  been  quiet,"  was  the  answer; 
"and  there  is  little  cause  to  keep  the  sleepers  long, 
er  from  their  beds.  Some  vigilant  eyes,  like  those 
of  Reuben  Ring  and  my  own,  had  better  be  open 
until  the  morning ;  further  than  that,  is  there  no 
reason  for  being  wakeful." 

Perhaps  the  borderer  would  have  dwelt  more  at 
large  on  his  own  readiness  to  pass  the  remainder  of 
the  hours  of  rest  in  attending  to  the  security  of 
those  who  slept,  had  not  another  wicked  glance 
from  the  dark,  laughing  eye  of  her  who  stood  so 
favorably  placed  to  observe  his  countenance,  admon 
ished  him  of  the  prudence  of  being  modest  in  his 
professions. 

"  This  alarm  hath  then  happily  passed  away," 
said  the  Puritan,  arising.  "  We  will  now  go  to  our 
pillows  in  thankfulness  and  peace.  Thy  service  shall 
not  be  forgotten,  Dudley ;  for  thou  hast  exposed 
thyself  to  seeming  danger,  at  least,  in  our  behalf." 

"That  hath  he!"  half- whispered  Faith;  "and 
sure  am  I,  that  we  maidens  will  not  forget  his  read 
iness  to  lose  the  sweets  of  sleep,  in  order  that  the 
feeble  may  not  come  to  harm." 

"  Speak  not  of  the  trifle,"  hurriedly  returned  the 
other.  "  There  has  been  some  deception  in  the 
sounds,  for  it  is  now  my  opinion,  except  to  summon 
us  to  the  gate,  that  this  stranger  might  enter — the 
conch  hath  not  been  touched  at  all  to  night." 

"  Then  is  it  a  deception  which  is  repeated !"  ex 
claimed  Content,  rising  from  his  chair  as  a  faint  and 
broken  blast  from  the  shell,  like  that  which  had 
first  announced  their  visitor,  again  struggled  among 


OF    WISH-TON  -WISH  101 

the  buildings,  until  it  reached  every  ear  in  tho 
dwelling. 

"  Here  is  warning  as  mysterious  as  it  may  prove 
portentous!"  said  old  Mark  Heathcote,  when  the 
surprise,  not  to  say  consternation  of  the  moment, 
had  subsided.  "  Hast  seen  nothing  that  might  jus 
tify  this  ?" 

Eben  Dudley,  like  most  of  the  auditors,  was  too 
much  confounded  to  reply.  Afl  seemed  to  attend 
anxiously  for  the  second  and  more  powerful  blast, 
which  was  to  complete  the  imitation  of  the  stran 
ger's  summons.  It  was  not  necessary  to  wait  long  ; 
for  in  a  time  as  near  as  might  be,  to  that  which  had 
intervened  between  the  two  first  peals  of  the  horn, 
followed  another,  and  in  a  note  so  true,  again,  as  to 
give  it  the  semblance  of  an  echo. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

"  I  will  watch  to-night  ; 
Perchance  't  will  walk  again." 

HAMLET. 

»'  MAY  not  this  be  a  warning  given  in  mercy?"  the 
Puritan,  at  all  times  disposed  to  yield  credit  to  su 
pernatural  manifestations  of  the  care  of  Providence, 
demanded  with  a  solemnity  that  did  not  fail  to  pro 
duce  its  impression  on  most  of  his  auditors.  "  The 
history  of  our  Colonies  is  full  of  the  evidences  of 
these  merciful  interpositions." 

"  We  will  thus  consider  it  ;"  returned  the  stran 
ger,  to  whom  the  question  seemed  more  particularly 
addressed.  "  The  first  measure  shall  be  to  seek  out 
the  danger  to  which  it  points.  Let  the  youth  they 
call  Dudley,  give  me  the  aid  of  his  powerful  frame 
14* 


162  THE    WEPT 

and  manly  courage ;  then  trust  the  discovery  of  the 
meaning  of  these  frequent  speakings  of  the  conch, 
to  me." 

"  Surely,  Submission,  thou  wilt  not  again  be  the 
first  to  go  forth !"  exclaimed  Mark,  in  a  surprise 
that  was  equally  manifested  by  Content  and  Ruth, 
the  latter  of  whom  pressed  her  little  image  to  her 
side  as  though  the  bare  proposal  presented  a  power 
ful  picture  of  supernatural  danger.  "  'Twill  be  well 
to  think  maturely  on  the  step,  ere  thou  runnest  the 
hazard  of  such  an  adventure." 

"  Better  it  should  be  I,"  said  Content,  "  who  am 
accustomed  to  forest  signs,  and  all  the  usual  testi 
monials  of  the  presence  of  those  who  may  wish  us 
harm." 

"  No,"  said  he,  who  for  the  first  time  had  been 
called  '  Submission/  a  name  that  savored  of  the 
religious  enthusiasm  of  the  times,  and  which  might 
have  been  adopted  as  an  open  avowal  of  his  readi 
ness  to  bow  beneath  some  peculiar  dispensation  of 
Providence.  "  This  service  shall  be  mine.  Thou  art 
both  husband  and  father ;  and  many  are  there  who 
look  to  thy  safety  as  to  their  rock  of  earthly  support 

and  comfort,  while  neither  kindred,  nor but  we 

will  not  speak  of  things  foreign  to  our  purpose !  Thou 
knowest,  Mark  Heathcote,  that  peril  and  I  are  no 
strangers.  There  is  little  need  to  bid  me  be  pru 
dent.  Come,  bold  woodsman ;  shoulder  thy  musket, 
and  be  ready  to  do  credit  to  thy  manhood,  should 
there  be  reason  to  prove  it." 

"  And  why  not  Reuben  Ring  1"  said  a  hurried  fe 
male  voice,  that  all  knew  to  proceed  from  the  lips 
of  the  sister  of  the  youth  just  named.  "  He  is  quick 
of  eye  and  ready  of  hand,  in  trials  like  these ;  would 
it  not  be  well  to  succor  thy  party  with  such  aid  ?' 

"  Peace,  girl,"  meekly  observed  Ruth.  "  This  mat 
ter  is  already  in  the  ordering  of  one  used  to  com- 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  163 

mand ;  there  needeth  no  counsel  from  thy  short  ex 
perience." 

Faith  shrunk  back  abashed,  the  flush  which  had 
mantled  over  her  brown  cheek  deepening  to  a  tint 
like  that  of  blood. 

Submission  (we  use  the  appellation  in  the  absence 
of  all  others)  fastened  a  searching  glance,  for  a  sin 
gle  moment,  on  the  countenance  of  the  girl ;  and 
then,  as  if  his  intention  had  not  been  diverted  from 
the  principal  subject  in  hand,  he  rejoined  coolly — 

"  We  go  as  scouters  and  observers  of  that  which 
may  hereafter  call  for  the  ready  assistance  of  this 
youth ;  but  numbers  would  expose  us  to  observation, 
without  adding  to  our  usefulness — and  yet,"  he 
added,  arresting  his  footstep,  which  was  already 
turned  towards  the  door,  and  looking  earnestly  and 
long  at  the  Indian  boy,  "perhaps  there  standeth 
one  who  might  much  enlighten  us,  would  he  but 
speak !" 

This  remark  drew  every  eye  on  the  person  of  the 
captive.  The  lad  stood  the  scrutiny  with  the  un 
dismayed  and  immovable  composure  of  his  race. 
But  though  his  eye  met  the  looks  of  those  around 
him  haughtily  and  in  pride,  it  was  not  gleaming  with 
any  of  that  stern  defiance  which  had  so  often  been 
known  to  glitter  in  his  glances,  when  he  had  reason 
to  think  that  his  fortunes,  or  his  person,  was  the  sub 
ject  of  the  peculiar  observation  of  those  with  whom 
he  dwelt.  On  the  contrary,  the  expression  of  his 
dark  visage  was  rather  that  of  amity  than  of  hatred, 
and  there  was  a  moment  when  the  look  he  cast 
upon  Ruth  and  her  offspring  was  visibly  touched 
with  a  feeling  of  concern.  A  glance,  charged  with 
such  a  meaning,  could  not  escape  the  quick-sighted 
vigilance  of  a  mother. 

"The  child  hath  proved  himself  worthy  to  be 
trusted,"  she  said ;  "  and  in  the  name  of  him  who 


164  THE  WEPT 

looketh  into  and  knoweth  all  hearts,  let  him  once 
more  go  forth." 

Her  lips  became  sealed,  for  again  the  conch  an 
nounced  the  seeming  impatience  of  those  without  to 
be  admitted.  The  full  tones  of  the  shell  thrilled 
on  the  nerves  of  the  listeners,  as  though  they  pro 
claimed  the  coming  of  some  great  and  fearful  judg 
ment. 

In  the  midst  of  these  often-repeated  and  myste 
rious  sounds,  Submission  alone  seemed  calm  and  un 
moved.  Turning  his  look  from  the  countenance  of 
the  boy,  whose  head  had  dropped  upon  his  breast  as 
the  last  notes  of  the  conch  rang  among  the  buildings, 
he  motioned  hurriedly  to  Dudley  to  follow,  and  left 
the  place. 

There  was,  in  good  truth,  that  in  the  secluded 
situation  of  the  valley,  the  darkness  of  the  hour,  and 
the  nature  of  the  several  interruptions,  which  might 
readily  awaken  deep  concern  in  the  breasts  of  men 
as  firm  even  as  those  who  now  issued  into  the  open 
air,  in  quest  of  the  solution  of  doubts  that  were  be 
coming  intensely  painful.  The  stranger,  or  Submis 
sion,  as  we  may  in  future  have  frequent  occasion  to 
call  him,  led  the  way  in  silence  to  a  point  of  the 
eminence,  without  the  buildings,  where  the  eye 
might  overlook  the  palisadoes  that  hedged  the  sides 
of  the  acclivity,  and  command  a  view  beyond  of  all 
that  the  dusky  and  imperfect  light  would  reveal. 

It  was  a  scene  that  required  familiarity  with  a 
border  life  to  be  looked  on,  at  any  moment,  with 
indifference.  The  broad,  nearly  interminable,  and 
seemingly  trackless  forest  lay  about  them,  bounding 
the  view  to  the  narrow  limits  of  the  valley,  as  though 
it  were  some  straitened  oasis  amidst  an  ocean  of  wil 
derness.  Within  the  boundaries  of  the  cleared  land, 
objects  were  less  indistinct ;  though  even  those  near 
est  and  most  known  were  now  seen  only  in  the  con 
fused  and  gloomy  outlines  of  night. 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  165 

Across  this  dim  prospect,  Submission  and  his  com 
panion  gazed  long  and  cautiously. 

"There  is  nought  but  motionless  stumps,  and 
fences  loaded  with  snow,"  said  the  former,  when  his 
eye  had  roamed  over  the  whole  circuit  of  the  view 
which  lay  on  the  side  of  the  valley  where  they  stood. 
"  We  must  go  forth,  that  we  may  look  nearer  to  the 
fields." 

"  Thither  then  is  the  postern,"  said  Dudley,  ob 
serving  that  the  other  took  a  direction  opposite  to 
that  which  led  to  the  gate*  But  a  gesture  of  au 
thority  induced  him  at  the  next  instant  to  restrain 
his  voice,  and  to  follow  whither  his  companion  chose 
to  lead  the  way. 

The  stranger  made  a  circuit  of  half  the  hill  ere 
he  descended  to  the  palisadocs,  at  a  point  where  lay 
long  and  massive  piles  of  wood,  which  had  been  col 
lected  for  the  fuel  of  the  family.  This  spot  was  one 
that  overlooked  the  steepest  acclivity  of  the  emi 
nence,  which  was  in  itself,  just  there,  so  difficult  of 
ascent,  as  to  render  the  provision  of  the  pickets  far 
less  necessary  than  in  its  more  even  faces.  Still  no 
useful  precaution  for  the  security  of  the  family  had 
been  neglected,  even  at  this  strong  point  of  the 
works.  The  piles  of  wood  were  laid  at  such  a  dis 
tance  from  the  pickets  as  to  afford  no  facilities  for 
scaling  them,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  they  formed 
platforms  and  breast-works  that  might  have  greatly 
added  to  the  safety  of  those  who  should  be  required 
to  defend  this  portion  of  the  fortress.  Taking  his 
way  directly  amid  the  parallel  piles,  the  stranger 
descended  rapidly  through  the  whole  of  their  mazes, 
until  he  had  reached  the  open  space  between  the 
outer  of  the  rows  and  the  palisadoes,  a  space  that 
was  warily  left  too  wide  to  be  passed  by  the  leap 
of  man. 

"  'Tis  many  a  day  since  foot  of  mine  has  been  in 
this  spot,"  said  Eben  Dudley,  feeling  his  way  along 


166  THE   WEPT 

a  path  that  his  companion  threaded  without  any 
apparent  hesitation.  "  My  own  hand  laid  this  outer 
pile,  some  winters  since,  and  certain  am  I,  that  from 
that  hour  to  this,  man  hath  not  touched  a  billet  of 
the  wood — And  yet,  for  one  who  hath  come  from 
over  sea,  it  would  appear  that  thou  hast  no  great  diffi 
culty  in  making  way  among  the  narrow  lanes !" 

"  He  that  hath  sight  may  well  choose  between  air 
and  beechen  logs,"  returned  the  other,  stopping  at 
the  palisadoes,  and  in  a  place  that  was  concealed 
from  any  prying  eyes  within  the  works,  by  triple 
and  quadruple  barriers  of  wood.  Feeling  in  his  gir 
dle,  he  then  drew  forth  something  which  Dudley 
was  not  long  in  discovering  to  be  a  key.  While  the 
latter,  aided  by  the  little  light  that  fell  from  the 
heavens,  was  endeavoring  to  make  the  most  of  his 
eyes,  Submission  applied  the  instrument  to  a  lock 
that  was  artfully  sunk  in  one  of  the  timbers,  at  the 
height  of  a  man's  breast  from  the  ground;  and  giving' 
a  couple  of  vigorous  turns,  a  piece  of  the  palisado, 
some  half  a  fathom  long,  yielded  on  a  powerful  hinge 
below,  and,  falling,  made  an  opening  sufficiently 
large  for  the  passage  of  a  human  body. 

"  Here  is  a  sally-port  ready  provided  for  our 
sortie,"  the  stranger  coolly  observed,  motioning  to 
the  other  to  precede  him.  When  Dudley  had  pass 
ed,  his  companion  followed,  and  the  opening  was 
then  carefully  closed  and  locked. 

"  Now  is  all  fast  again,  and  we  are  in  the  fields 
without  raising  alarm  to  any  of  mortal  birth,  at 
least,"  continued  the  guide,  thrusting  a  hand  into 
the  folds  of  his  doublet,  as  if  to  feel  for  a  weapon, 
and  preparing  to  descend  the  difficult  declivity 
which  still  lay  between  him  and  the  base  of  the 
hill.  Eben  Dudley  hesitated  to  follow.  The  inter 
view  with  the  traveller  in  the  mountains  occurred 
to  his  heated  imagination,  and  the  visions  of  a  pres 
tigious  agency  revived  with  all  their  original  force. 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH  167 

The  whole  manner  and  the  mysterious  character 
of  his  companion,  was  little  likely  to  reassure  a 
mind  disturbed  with  such  images. 

"  There  is  a  rumor  going  in  the  Colony,"  mutter 
ed  the  borderer,  "  that  the  invisibles  are  permitted 
for  a  time  to  work  their  evil ;  and  it  may  well  hap 
pen  that  some  of  their  ungodly  members  shall  jour 
ney  to  the  Wish-Ton-Wish,  in  lack  of  better  em 
ployment." 

"Thou  sayest  truly,"  replied  the  stranger;  "but 
the  power  that  allows  of  their  wicked  torments 
may  have  seen  fit  to  provide  an  agent  of  its  own,  to 
defeat  their  subtleties.  We  will  now  draw  nearer 
to  the  gate,  in  order  that  an  eye  may  be  kept  on 
their  malicious  designs." 

Submission  spoke  with  gravity,  and  not  without 
a  certain  manner  of  solemnity.  Dudley  yielded, 
though  with  a  divided  and  a  disturbed  mind,  to  his 
suggestion.  Still  he  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  the 
stranger,  with  a  caution  that  might  well  have  eluded 
the  vigilance  of  any  agency  short  of  that  which 
drew  its  means  of  information  from  sources  deeper 
than  any  of  human  power. 

When  the  two  watches  had  found  a  secret  and 
suitable  place,  not  far  from  the  postern,  they  disposed 
themselves  in  silence  to  await  the  result.  The  out 
buildings  lay  in  deep  quiet,  not  a  sound  of  any  sort 
arising  from  all  of  the  many  tenants  they  were 
known  to  contain.  The  lines  of  ragged  fences ;  the 
blackened  stumps,  capped  with  little  pyramids  of 
snow ;  the  taller  and  sometimes  suspiciously-looking 
stubs;  an  insulated  tree,  and  finally  the  broad  bor- 
ber  of  forest, — were  alike  motionless,  gloomy,  and 
clothed  in  the  doubtful  forms  of  night.  Still,  the 
space  around  the  well-secured  and  trebly-barred 
postern  was  vacant.  A  sheet  of  spotless  snow  served 
as  a  back-ground,  that  would  have  been  sure  to  be- 
tray  the  presence  of  any  object  passing  over  its 


168  THE  WEPT 

surface.  Even  the  conch  might  be  seen  suspended 
from  one  of  the  timbers,  as  mute  and  inoffensive  as 
the  hour  when  it  had  been  washed  by  the  waves, 
on  the  sands  of  the  sea-shore. 

"  Here  will  we  watch  for  the  coming  of  the 
stranger,  be  he  commissioned  by  the  powers  of  air, 
or  be  he  one  sent  on  an  errand  of  earth ;"  whisper 
ed  Submission,  preparing  his  arms  for  immediate 
use,  and  disposing  of  his  person,  at  the  same  time, 
in  a  manner  most  convenient  to  endure  the  weari 
ness  of  a  patient  watch. 

"  I  would  my  mind  were  at  ease  on  the  question 
of  right-doing  in  dealing  harm  to  one  who  disturbs 
the  quiet  of  a  border  family,"  said  Dudley,  in  a 
tone  sufficiently  repressed  for  caution ;  "  it  may  be 
found  prudent  to  strike  the  first  blow,  should  one 
like  an  over-sea  gallant,  after  all,  be  inclined  to 
trouble  us  at  this  hour." 

"  In  that  strait,  thou  wilt  do  well  to  give  little 
heed  to  the  order  of  the  offences,"  gloomily  return 
ed  the  other.  "  Should  another  messenger  of  Eng 
land  appear " 

He  paused,  for  a  note  of  the  conch  was  heard 
rising  gradually  on  the  air,  until  the  whole  of  the 
wide  valley  was  filled  with  its  rich  and  melancholy 
sound. 

"  Lip  of  man  is  not  at  the  shell !"  exclaimed  the 
stranger;  who  like  Dudley  had  made  a  forward 
movement  towards  the  postern,  the  instant  the  blast 
reached  his  ear,  and  who  like  Dudley  recoiled  in 
an  amazement  that  even  his  practised  self-command 
could  not  conceal,  as  he  undeniably  perceived  the 
truth  of  that  his  speech  affirmed.  "  This  exceedeth 
all  former  instances  of  marvellous  visitations !" 

'•  It  is  vain  to  pretend  to  raise  the  feeble  nature 
of  man  to  the  level  of  things  coming  from  the  in 
visible  world,"  returned  the  woodsman  at  his  siae. 
*  In  such  a  strait,  it  is  seemly  that  sinful  men  should 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  169 

withdraw  to  the  dwellings,  where  we  may  sustain 
our  feebleness  by  the  spiritual  strivings  of  the  Cap 
tain." 

To  this  discreet  proposal  the  stranger  raised  no 
objection.  Without  taking  the  time  necessary  to 
effect  their  retreat  with  the  precaution  that  had 
been  observed  in  their  advance,  the  two  adventur 
ers  quickly  found  themselves  at  the  secret  entrance 
through  which  they  had  so  lately  issued. 

"Enter,"  said  the  stranger,  lowering  the  piece 
of  the  palisado  for  the  passage  of  his  companion. 
"  Enter,  of  a  Heaven's  sake !  for  it  is  truly  meet 
that  we  assemble  all  our  spiritual  succor." 

Dudley  was  in  the  act  of  complying,  when  a  dark 
line,  accompanied  by  a  low  rushing  sound,  cut  the 
air  between  his  head  and  that  of  his  companion. 
At  the  next  instant,  a  flint-headed  arrow  quivered 
in  the  timber. 

"  The  heathen!"  shouted  the  borderer,  recovering 
all  his  manhood  as  the  familiar  danger  became  ap 
parent,  and  throwing  back  a  stream  of  fire  in  the 
direction  from  which  the  treacherous  missile  had 
come.  "  To  the  palisadoes,  men  !  the  bloody  hea 
then  is  upon  us !" 

"  The  heathen !"  echoed  the  stranger,  in  a  deep 
steady,  commanding  voice,  that  had  evidently  often 
raised  the  warning  in  scenes  of  even  greater  emer 
gency,  and  levelling  a  pistol,  which  brought  a  dark 
form  that  was  gliding  across  the  snow  to  one  knee. 
"  The  heathen  !  the  bloody  heathen  is  upon  us  !" 

As  if  both  assailants  and  assailed  paused,  one 
moment  of  profound  stillness  succeeded  this  fierce 
interruption  of  the  quiet  of  the  night.  Then  the 
cries  of  the  two  adventurers  were  answered  by  a 
ourst  of  yells  from  a  wide  circle,  that  nearly  envi 
roned  the  hill.  At  the  same  moment,  each  dark 
object,  in  the  fields,  gave  up  a  human  form.  The 
shouts  were  followed  by  a  cloud  of  arrows,  that 
15 


170  THE  WEPT 

rendered  further  delay  without  the  cover  of  the 
palisadoes  eminently  hazardous.  Dudley  entered ; 
but  the  passage  of  the  stranger  would  have  been 
cut  off,  by  a  leaping,  whooping  band  that  pressed 
fiercely  on  his  rear,  had  not  a  broad  sheet  of  flame, 
glancing  from  the  hill  directly  in  their  swarthy  and 
grim  countenances,  driven  the  assailants  back  upon 
their  own  footsteps.  In  another  moment,  the  bolts 
of  the  lock  were  passed,  and  the  two  fugitives  were 
in  safety  behind  the  ponderous  piles  of  wood. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

"  There  need  no  ghost,  my  lord,  come  from  the  grave 
To  tell  us  this." 

HAMLET 

ALTHOUGH  the  minds  of  most,  if  not  of  all  the 
inmates  of  the  Wish-Ton-Wish,  had  been  so  power 
fully  exercised  that  night  with  a  belief  that  the 
powers  of  the  invisible  world  were  about  to  be  let 
loose  upon  them,  the  danger  had  now  presented 
itself  in  a  shape  too  palpable  to  admit  of  further 
doubt.  The  cry  of  *  the  heathen '  had  been  raised 
from  every  lip ;  even  the  daughter  and  eleve  of 
Ruth  repeated  it,  as  they  fled  wailing  through  the 
buildings ;  and,  for  a  moment,  terror  and  surprise 
appeared  to  involve  the  assailed  in  inextricable  con 
fusion.  But  the  promptitude  of  the  young  men  in 
rushing  to  the  rescue,  with  the  steadiness  of  Content, 
soon  restored  order.  Even  the  females  assumed  at 
least  the  semblance  of  composure,  the  family  having 
been  too  long  trained  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  such 
an  emergency,  to  be  thrown  entirely  off  its  guard, 
for  more  than  the  first  and  the  most  appalling 
moments  of  the  alarm. 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  171 

The  effect  of  the  sudden  repulse  was  such  as  all 
experience  had  taught  the  Colonists  to  expect,  in 
their  Indian  warfare.  The  uproar  of  the  onset 
ceased  as  abruptly  as  it  had  commenced,  and  a 
calmness  so  tranquil,  and  a  stillness  so  profound, 
succeeded,  that  one  who  had  for  the  first  time 
witnessed  such  a  scene,  might  readily  have  fancied 
it  the  effects  of  some  wild  and  fearful  illusion. 

During  these  moments  of  general  and  deep  silence, 
the  two  adventurers,  whose  retreat  had  probably 
hastened  the  assault  by  offering  the  temptation  of 
an  easy  passage  within  the  works,  left  the  cover  of 
the  piles  of  wood,  and  ascended  the  hill  to  the 
place  where  Dudley  knew  Content  was  to  be  posted, 
in  the  event  of  a  summons  to  the  defences. 

"  Unless  much  inquiry  hath  deceived  me  in  the  na 
ture  of  the  heathen's  craftiness,"  said  the  stranger, 
"  we  shall  have  breathing-time  ere  the  onset  be 
renewed.  The  experience  of  a  soldier  bids  me  say, 
that  prudence  now  urges  us  to  look  into  the  number 
and  position  of  our  foes,  that  we  may  order  our 
resistance  with  better  understanding  of  their  force." 

"  In  what  manner  of  way  may  this  be  done  ? 
Thou  seest  nought  about  us  but  the  quiet  and  the 
darkness  of  night.  Speak  of  the  number  of  our 
enemies  we  cannot,  and  sally  forth  we  may  not, 
without  certain  destruction  to  all  who  quit  the 
palisadoes." 

"  Thou  forgottest  that  we  have  a  hostage  in  the 
boy ;  he  may  be  turned  to  some  advantage,  if  our 
power  over  his  person  be  used  with  discretion." 

"  I  doubt  that  we  deceive  ourselves  with  a  hope 
that  is  vain,"  returned  Content,  leading  the  way 
as  he  spoke,  however,  towards  the  court  which  com 
municated  with  the  principal  dwelling.  "  I  have 
closely  studied  the  eye  of  that  lad,  since  his  unac 
countable  entrance  within  the  works,  and  little  do 
I  find  there  that  should  teach  us  to  expect  confidence. 


172  THE    WEPT 

It  will  be  happy  if  some  secret  understanding  with 
those  without,  has  not  aided  him  in  passing  the 
palisadoes,  and  that  he  prove  not  a  dangerous  spy 
on  our  force  and  movements." 

"  In  regard  to  that  he  hath  entered  the  dwelling 
without  sound  of  conch  or  aid  of  postern,  be  not 
disturbed,"  returned  the  stranger  with  composure. 
"Were  it  fitting,  this  mystery  might  be  of  easy 
explanation ;  but  it  may  truly  need  all  our  sagacity 
to  discover  whether  he  hath  connexion  with  our 
foes !  The  mind  of  a  native  does  not  give  up  its 
secrets  like  the  surface  of  a  vanity-feeding  mirror." 

The  stranger  spoke  like  a  man  who  wrapped  a 
portion  of  his  thoughts  in  reserve,  and  his  com 
panion  listened  as  one  who  comprehended  more  than 
it  might  be  seemly  or  discreet  to  betray.  With  this 
secret  and  yet  equivocal  understanding  of  each 
other's  meaning,  they  entered  the  dwelling,  and 
soon  found  themselves  in  the  presence  of  those  they 
sought. 

The  constant  danger  of  their  situation  had  com 
pelled  the  family  to  bring  themselves  within  the 
habits  of  a  methodical  and  severely-regulated  order 
of  defence.  Duties  were  assigned,  in  the  event  of 
alarm,  to  the  feeblest  bodies  and  the  faintest  hearts ; 
and  during  the  moments  which  preceded  the  visit 
of  her  husband,  Ruth  had  been  endeavoring  to 
commit  to  her  female  subordinates  the  several 
necessary  charges  that  usage,  and  more  particularly 
the  emergency  of  the  hour,  appeared  so  imperiously 
to  require. 

"  Hasten,  Charity,  to  the  block,"  she  said ;  "  and 
look  into  the  condition  of  the  buckets  and  the  ladders, 
that  should  the  heathen  drive  us  to  its  shelter, 
provision  of  water,  and  means  of  retreat,  be  not 
wanting  in  our  extremity ;  and  hie  thee.  Faith,  into 
the  upper  apartments,  to  see  that  no  lights  may 
direct  their  murderous  aim  at  any  in  the  chambers. 


OF    WISH- TON -WISH.  173 

Thoughts  come  tardily,  when  the  arrow  or  the 
bullet  hath  already  taken  its  flight !  And  now,  that 
Hie  first  assault  is  over,  Mark,  and  we  may  hope  to 
meet  the  wiles  of  the  enemy  by  some  prudence  of 
our  own,  thou  mayst  go  forth  to  thy  father.  It 
would  have  been  tempting  Providence  too  rashly, 
hadst  thou  rushed,  unbidden  and  uninformed,  into 
the  first  hurry  of  the  danger.  Come  hither,  child, 
and  receive  the  blessing  and  prayers  of  thy  mother; 
after  which  thou  shalt,  with  better  trust  in  Provi 
dence,  place  thy  young  person  among  the  combat 
ants,  in  the  hope  of  victory.  Remember  that  thou 
art  now  of  an  age  to  do  justice  to  thy  name  and 
origin,  and  yet  art  thou  of  years  too  tender  to  be 
foremost  in  speech,  and  far  less  in  action,  on  such  a 
night  as  this." 

A  momentary  flush,  that  only  served  to  render 
the  succeeding  paleness  more  obvious,  passed  across 
the  brow  of  the  mother.  She  stooped,  and  imprint 
ed  a  kiss  on  the  forehead  of  the  impatient  boy,  who 
scarcely  waited  to  receive  this  act  of  tenderness, 
ere  he  hurried  to  place  himself  in  the  ranks  of  her 
defenders. 

"And  now,"  said  Ruth,  slowly  turning  her  eye 
from  the  door  by  which  the  lad  had  disappeared, 
and  speaking  with  a  sort  of  unnatural  composure, 
"and  now  will  we  look  to  the  safety  of  those  who 
can  be  of  but  little  service,  except  as  sentinels  to 
sound  the  alarm.  When  thou  art  certain,  Faith, 
that  no  neglected  light  is  in  the  rooms  above,  take 
the  children  to  the  secret  chamber;  thence  they 
may  look  upon  the  fields,  without  danger  from  any 
chance  direction  of  the  savages'  aim.  Thou  know- 
est,  Faith,  my  frequent  teaching  in  this  matter;  let 
no  sounds  of  alarm,  nor  frightful  whoopings  of  the 
people  without,  cause  thee  to  quit  the  spot ;  since 
thou  wilt  there  be  safer  even  than  in  the  block, 
against  which  many  missiles  will  doubtless  be  driven, 
15* 


174  THE    WEPT 

on  account  of  its  seeming  air  of  strength.  Timely 
notice  shall  be  given  of  the  change,  should  we  seek 
its  security.  Thou  wilt  descend,  only,  shouldst  thou 
see  enemies  scaling  the  palisadoes  on  the  side  which 
overhangs  the  stream;  since  there  have  we  the 
fewest  eyes  to  watch  their  movements.  Remember 
that  on  the  side  of  the  out-buildings  and  of  the 
fields,  our  force  is  chiefly  posted ;  there  can  be  less 
reason  therefore  that  thou  shouldst  expose  thy  lives 
by  endeavoring  to  look,  too  curiously,  into  that 
which  passeth  in  the  fields.  Go,  my  children ;  and  a 
heavenly  Providence  prove  thy  guardian  !" 

Ruth  stooped  to  kiss  the  cheek  that  her  daughter 
offered  to  the  salute.  The  embrace  was  then  given 
to  the  other  child,  who  was  in  truth  scarcely  less 
near  her  heart,  being  the  orphan  daughter  of  one 
who  had  been  as  a  sister  in  her  affections.  But,  un 
like  the  kiss  she  had  impressed  on  the  forehead  of 
Mark,  the  present  embraces  were  hasty,  and  evi 
dently  awakened  less  intense  emotion.  She  had 
committed  the  boy  to  a  known  and  positive  danger, 
but,  under  the  semblance  of  some  usefulness,  she 
sent  the  others  to  a  place  believed  to  be  even  less 
exposed,  so  long  as  the  enemy  could  be  kept  with 
out  the  works,  than  the  citadel  itself.  Still,  a  feel 
ing  of  deep  and  maternal  tenderness  came  over  her 
mind,  as  her  daughter  retired ;  and,  yielding  to  its 
sudden  impulse,  she  recalled  the  girl  to  her  side. 

"Thou  wilt  repeat  the  prayer  for  especial  pro 
tection  against  the  dangers  of  the  wilderness,''  she 
solemnly  continued.  "In  thy  asking,  fail  not  to  re 
member  him  to  whom  thou  owest  being,  and  who 
now  exposeth  life,  that  we  may  be  safe.  Thou 
knowest  the  Christian's  rock ;  place  thy  faith  on  its 
foundation." 

"And  they  who  seek  to  kill  us,"  demanded  the 
well-instructed  child;  "are  they  too  of  the  number 
of  those  for  whom  he  died  ?" 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  17.5 

(<It  may  not  be  doubted,  though  tht  manner  of 
the  dispensation  be  so  mysterious !  Barbarians  in 
their  habits,  and  ruthless  in  their  enmities,  they 
are  creatures  of  our  nature,  and  equally  objects  of 
his  care." 

Flaxen  locks,  that  half-covered  a  forehead  and 
face  across  which  ran  the  most  delicate  tracery  of 
veins,  added  lustre  to  a  skin  as  spotlessly  fair  as  if 
the  warm  breezes  of  that  latitude  had  never  fan 
ned  the  countenance  of  the  girl.  Through  this  maze 
of  ringlets,  the  child  turned  her  full,  clear,  blue 
eyes,  bending  her  looks,  in  wonder  and  in  fear,  on 
the  dark  visage  of  the  captive  Indian  youth,  who 
at  that  moment  was  to  her  a  subject  of  secret 
horror.  Unconscious  of  the  interest  he  excited,  the 
lad  stood  calm,  haughty,  and  seemingly  unobserv 
ant,  cautious  to  let  no  sign  of  weakness  or  of  con 
cern  escape  him,  in  this  scene  of  womanly  emotion. 

"Mother,"  whispered  the  still  wondering  child; 
"  may  we  not  let  him  go  into  the  forest  1  I  do  not 
love  to " 

"  This  is  no  time  for  speech.  Go  to  thy  hiding- 
place,  my  child,  and  remember  both  thy  askings  and 
the  cautions  I  have  named.  Go,  and  heavenly  care 
protect  thy  innocent  head !" 

Ruth  again  stooped,  and  bowing  her  face  until 
the  features  were  lost  in  the  rich  tresses  of  her 
daughter,  a  moment  passed  during  which  there  was 
an  eloquent  silence.  When  she  arose,  a  tear  glis 
tened  on  the  cheek  of  the  child.  The  latter  had 
received  the  embrace  more  in  apathy  than  in  con 
cern  ;  and  now,  when  led  towards  the  upper  rooms, 
she  moved  from  the  presence  of  her  mother,  it  was 
with  an  eye  that  never  bent  its  riveted  gaze  from 
the  features  of  the  young  Indian,  until  the  inter 
vening  walls  hid  him  entirely  from  her  sight. 

"  Thou  hast  been  thoughtful  and  like  thyself,  my 
good  Ruth,"  said  Content,  who  at  that  moment  en- 


176  THE    WEPT 

tered,  and  who  rewarded  the  self-command  of  his 
wife  by  a  look  of  the  kindest  approbation.  "  The 
youths  have  not  been  more  prompt  in  meeting  the 
foe  at  the  stockades,  than  thy  maidens  in  looking  to 
their  less  hardy  duties.  All  is  again  quiet,  without; 
and  we  come,  now,  rather  for  consultation,  than  for 
any  purposes  of  strife." 

"  Then  must  we  summon  our  father  from  his  post 
at  the  artillery,  in  the  block." 

"  It  is  not  needful,"  interrupted  the  stranger. 
"Time  presses,  for  this  calm  may  be  too  shortly 
succeeded  by  a  tempest  that  all  our  power  shall  not 
quell.  Bring  forth  the  captive." 

Content  signed  to  the  boy  to  approach,  and  when 
he  was  in  reach  of  his  hand,  he  placed  him  full  be 
fore  the  stranger. 

"  I  know  not  thy  name,  nor  yet  even  that  of  thy 
people,"  commenced  the  latter,  after  a  long  pause 
in  which  he  seemed  to  study  deeply  the  countenance 
of  the  lad ;  "  but  certain  am  I,  though  a  more  wicked 
spirit  may  still  be  struggling  for  the  mastery  in  thy 
wild  mind,  that  nobleness  of  feeling  is  no  stranger 
to  thy  bosom.  Speak ;  hast  thou  aught  to  impart 
concerning  the  danger  that  besets  this  family?  1 
have  learned  much  this  night  from  thy  manner,  but 
to  be  clearly  understood,  it  is  now  time  that  thou 
shouldst  speak  in  words." 

The  youth  kept  his  eye  fastened  on  that  of  the 
speaker,  until  the  other  had  ended,  and  then  he  bent 
it  slowly,  but  with  searching  observation,  on  the  anx 
ious  countenance  of  Ruth.  It  seemed  as  if  he  bal 
anced  between  his  pride  and  his  sympathies.  The 
latter  prevailed;  for,  conquering  the  deep  reluc 
tance  of  an  Indian,  he  spoke  openly,  and  for  the  first 
time,  since  his  captivity,  in  the  language  of  the 
hated  race. 

"  I  hear  the  whoops  of  warriors,"  was  his  calm  an 
swer  "  Have  the  ears  of  the  pale  men  been  shut  t* 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  177 

"  Thou  hast  spoken  with  the  young  men  of  thy 
tribe  in  the  forest,  and  thou  hadst  knowledge  of  this 
onset?" 

The  youth  made  no  reply,  though  the  keen  look 
of  his  interrogator  was  met  steadily,  and  without 
fear.  Perceiving  that  he  had  demanded  more  than 
would  be  answered,  the  stranger  changed  his  mode 
of  investigation,  masking  his  inquiries  with  a  little 
more  of  artifice. 

"  It  may  not  be  that  a  great  tribe  is  on  the  bloody 
path !"  he  said ;  "  warriors  would  have  walked  over 
the  timbers  of  the  palisadoes,  like  bending  reeds ! 
'Tis  a  Pequot  who  hath  broken  faith  with  a  Chris 
tian,  and  who  is  now  abroad,  prowling  as  a  wolf  in 
the  night." 

A  sudden  and  wild  expression  gleamed  over  the 
swarthy  features  of  the  boy.  His  lips  moved,  and 
the  words  that  issued  from  between  them  were  ut 
tered  in  the  tones  of  biting  scorn.  Still  he  rather 
muttered  than  pronounced  aloud — 

"  The  Pequot  is  a  dog !" 

"  It  is  as  I  had  thought ;  the  knaves  are  out  of 
their  villages,  that  the  Yengeese  may  feed  their 
squaws.  But  a  Narragansett,  or  a  Wampanoag,  is 
a  man ;  he'  scorns  to  lurk  in  the  darkness.  When 
he  comes,  the  sun  will  light  his  path.  The  Pequot 
steals  in  silence,  for  he  fears  that  the  warriors  will 
hear  his  tread." 

It  was  not  easy  to  detect  any  evidence  that  the 
captive  listened,  either  to  the  commendation  or  the 
censure,  with  answering  sympathy;  for  marble  is 
not  colder  that  were  the  muscles  of  his  unmoved 
countenance. 

The  stranger  studied  the  expression  of  his  features 
in  vain,  and  drawing  so  near  as  to  lay  his  hand  on 
the  naked  shoulder  of  the  lad,  he  added — "Boy, 
thou  hast  heard  much  moving  matter  concerning 
the  nature  of  our  Christian  faith,  and  thou  hast  been 


178  THE   WEPT 

the  subject  of  many  a  fervent  asking ;  it  may  not 
be  that  so  much  good  seed  hath  been  altogether 
scattered  by  the  way-side !  Speak ;  may  I  again 
trust  thee  ?" 

"  Let  my  father  look  on  the  snow.  The  print  of 
the  moccason  goes  and  comes." 

"  It  is  true.  Thus  far  hast  thou  proved  honest ; 
but  when  the  war-whoop  shall  be  thrilling  through 
thy  young  blood,  the  temptation  to  join  the  warriors 
may  be  too  strong.  Hast  any  gage,  any  pledge,  in 
which  we  may  find  warranty  for  letting  thee  depart  ?" 

The  boy  regarded  his  interrogator  with  a  look 
that  plainly  denoted  ignorance  of  his  meaning. 

"  I  would  know  what  thou  canst  leave  with  me, 
to  show  that  our  eyes  shall  again  look  upon  thy  face, 
when  we  have  opened  the  gate  for  thy  passage  into 
the  fields." 

Still  the  gaze  of  the  other  was  wondering  and 
confused. 

'•  When  the  white  man  goes  upon  the  wai-path 
and  would  put  trust  in  his  foe,  he  takes  surety  for 
his  faith,  by  holding  the  life  of  one  dear  as  a  war 
ranty  of  its  truth.  What  canst  offer,  that  I  may 
know  thou  wilt  return  from  the  errand  on  which  I 
would  fain  send  thee  ?" 

"  The  path  is  open." 

"  Open,  but  not  certain  to  be  used.  Fear  may 
cause  thee  to  forget  the  way  it  leads." 

The  captive  now  understood  the  meaning  of  the 
other's  doubts,  but,  as  if  disdaining  to  reply,  he  bent 
his  eyes  aside,  and  stood  in  one  of  those  immovable 
attitudes  which  so  often  gave  him  the  air  of  a  piece 
of  dark  statuary. 

Content  and  his  wife  had  listened  to  this  short 
dialogue,  in  a  manner  to  prove  that  they  possessed 
some  secret  knowledge,  which  lessened  the  wonder 
they  might  otherwise  have  felt,  at  witnessing  so  ob 
vious  proofs  of  a  secret  acquaintance  between  the 


OF    WISH-TOX-WISH.  179 

speakers.  Both  however  manifested  unequivocal 
signs  of  astonishment,  when  they  first  heard  English 
sounds  issuing  from  the  lips  of  the  boy.  There  was, 
at  least,  the  semblance  of  hope  in  the  mediation  of 
one  who  had  received,  and  who  had  appeared  to  ac 
knowledge,  so  much  kindness  from  herself;  and  Ruth 
clung  to  the  cheering  expectation  with  the  quick 
ness  of  maternal  care. 

"  Let  the  boy  depart,"  she  said.  "  I  will  be  his 
hostage ;  and  should  he  prove  false,  there  can  be 
less  to  fear  in  his  absence  than  in  his  presence." 

The  obvious  truth  of  the  latter  assertion  probably 
weighed  more  with  the  stranger  than  the  unmean 
ing  pledge  of  the  woman. 

"  There  is  reason  in  this,"  he  resumed.  "  Go,  then, 
into  the  fields,  and  say  to  thy  people  that  they  have 
mistaken  the  path;  that,  they  are  on,  hath  led  them 
to  the  dwelling  of  a  friend — Here  are  no  Pequots, 
nor  any  of  the  men  of  the  Manhattoes ;  but  Chris 
tian  Yengeese,  who  have  long  dealt  with  the  Indian 
as  one  just  man  dealeth  with  another.  Go,  and  when 
thy  signal  shall  be  heard  at  the  gate,  it  shall  be  open 
to  thee,  for  readmission." 

Thus  saying,  the  stranger  motioned  to  the  boy  to 
follow,  taking  care,  as  they  left  the  room  together, 
to  instruct  him  in  all  such  minor  matters  as  might 
assist  in  effecting  the  pacific  object  of  the  mission 
on  which  he  was  employed. 

A  few  minutes  of  doubt  and  of  fearful  suspense 
succeeded  this  experiment.  The  stranger,  after  see 
ing  that  egress  was  permitted  to  his  messenger,  had 
returned  to  the  dwelling,  and  rejoined  his  compan 
ions.  He  passed  the  moments  in  pacing  the  apart 
ment,  with  the  strides  of  one  in  whom  powerful 
concern  was  strongly  at  work.  At  times,  the  sound 
of  his  heavy  footstep  ceased,  and  then  all  listened 
intently,  in  order  to  catch  any  sound  that  might  in 
struct  them  in  the  nature  of  the  scene  that  was  pass- 


180  THE    WEPT 

ing  without.  In  the  midst  of  one  of  these  pauses,  a 
yell  like  that  of  savage  delight  arose  in  the  fields. 
It  was  succeeded  by  the  death-like  and  portentous 
calm,  which  had  rendered  the  time  since  the  mo 
mentary  attack  even  more  alarming  than  when  the 
danger  had  a  positive  and  known  character.  But 
all  the  attention  the  most  intense  anxiety  could  now 
lend,  furnished  no  additional  clue  to  the  movements 
of  their  foes.  For  many  minutes,  the  quiet  of  mid 
night  reigned  both  within  and  without  the  defences. 
In  the  midst  of  this  suspense,  the  latch  of  the  door 
was  lifted,  and  their  messenger  appeared  with  that 
noiseless  tread  and  collected  mien  which  distinguish 
the  people  of  his  race. 

"  Thou  hast  met  the  warriors  of  thy  tribe  ?"  hastily 
demanded  the  stranger. 

"  The  noise  did  not  cheat  the  Yengeese.  It  was 
not  a  girl,  laughing  in  the  woods.' 

"And  thou  hast  said  to  thy  people,  'we  are 
friends'  ?" 

"  The  words  of  my  father  were  spoken." 

"  And  heard — Were  they  loud  enough  to  enter 
the  ears  of  the  young  men  ?" 

The  boy  was  silent. . 

"  Speak,"  continued  the  stranger,  elevating  his 
form,  proudly,  like  one  ready  to  breast  a  more  severe 
shock.  "  Thou  hast  men  for  thy  listeners.  Is  the 
pipe  of  the  savage  filled  ?  will  he  smoke  in  peace, 
or  holdeth  he  the  tomahawk  in  a  clenched  hand  ?" 

The  countenance  of  the  boy  worked  with  a  feel 
ing  that  it  was  not  usual  for  an  Indian  to  betray. 
He  bent  his  look,  with  concern,  on  the  mild  eyes  of 
the  anxious  Ruth ;  then  drawing  a  hand  slowly  from 
beneath  the  light  robe  that  partly  covered  his  body, 
he  cast  at  the  feet  of  the  stranger  a  bundle  of  ar 
rows,  wrapped  in  the  glossy  and  striped  skin  of  the 
rattlesnake. 

"  This  is  warning  we  may  not  misconceive !"  said 


OF  WISH-TOJT-WISH.  181 

Content,  raising  the  well-known  emblem  of  ruthless 
hostility  to  the  light,  and  exhibiting  it  before  the 
eyes  of  his  less-instructed  companion.  "  Boy,  what 
have  the  people  of  my  race  done,  that  thy  warriors 
should  seek  their  blood,  to  this  extremity  1" 

When  the  boy  had  discharged  his  duty,  he  moved 
aside,  and  appeared  unwilling  to  observe  the  effect 
which  his  message  might  produce  on  his  companions. 
But  thus  questioned,  all  gentle  feelings  were  near 
being  forgotten,  in  the  sudden  force  of  passion.  A 
hasty  glance  at  Ruth  quelled  the  emotion,  and  he 
continued  calm  as  ever,  and  silent. 

"  Boy,"  repeated  Content,  "  I  ask  thee  why  thy 
people  seek  our  blood  ?" 

The  passage  of  the  electric  spark  is  not  more 
subtle,  nor  is  it  scarcely  more  brilliant,  than  was 
the  gleam  that  shot  into  the  dark  eye  of  the  Indian. 
The  organ  seemed  to  emit  rays  coruscant  as  the 
glance  of  the  serpent.  His  form  appeared  to  swell 
with  the  inward  strivings  of  the  spirit,  and  for  a 
moment  there  was  every  appearance  of  a  fierce 
and  uncontrollable  burst  of  ferocious  passion.  The 
conquest  of  feeling  was,  however,  but  momentary. 
He  regained  his  self-command  by  a  surprising  effort 
of  the  will,  and  advancing  so  near  to  him  who  had 
asked  this  bold  question,  as  to  lay  a  finger  on  his 
breast,  the  young  savage  haughtily  said — 

"  See  !  this  world  is  very  wide.  There  is  room 
on  it  for  the  panther  and  the  deer.  Why  have  the 
Yengeese  and  the  red-men  met  ?" 

"  We  waste  the  precious  moments  in  probing  the 
stern  nature  of  a  heathen,"  said  the  stranger. 
"  The  object  of  his  people  is  certain,  and,  with  the 
aid  of  the  Christian's  staff,  will  we  beat  back  their 
power.  Prudence  requireth  at  our  hands,  that  the 
lad  be  secured ;  after  which,  will  we  repair  to  the 
stockades  and  prove  ourselves  men." 

Against  this  proposal  no  reasonable  objection 
16 


182  THE    WEPT 

could  be  raised.  Content  was  about  to  secure  the 
person  of  his  captive  in  a  cellar,  when  a  suggestion 
of  his  wife  caused  him  to  change  his  purpose.  Not 
withstanding  the  sudden  and  fierce  mien  of  the 
youth,  there  had  been  such  an  intelligence  created 
between  them  by  looks  of  kindness  and  interest, 
that  the  mother  was  reluctant  to  abandon  all  hope 
of  his  aid. 

"  Miantonimoh !"  she  said,  "  though  others  distrust 
thy  purpose,  I  will  have  confidence.  Come,  then, 
with  me ;  and  while  I  give  thee  promise  of  safety  in 
thine  own  person,  I  ask  at  thy  hands  the  office  of 
a  protector  for  my  babes." 

The  boy  made  no  reply ;  but  as  he  passively  fol 
lowed  his  conductress  to  the  chambers,  Ruth  fancied 
she  read  assurance  of  his  faith,  in  the  expression 
of  his  eloquent  eye.  At  the  same  moment,  her  hus 
band  and  Submission  left  the  house,  to  take  their 
stations  at  the  palisadoes. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


"  Thou  art,  my  good  youth,  my  page ; 
I'll  be  thy  master :  walk  with  me ;  speak  freely." 

CYMBELINE. 

THE  apartment,  in  which  Ruth  had  directed  the 
children  to  be  placed,  was  in  the  attic,  and,  as  al 
ready  stated,  on  the  side  of  the  building  which 
faced  the  stream  that  ran  at  the  foot  of  the  hill. 
It  had  a  single  projecting  window,  through  which 
there  was  a  view  of  the  forest  and  of  the  fields  on 
that  side  of  the  valley.  Small  openings  in  its  sides 
admitted  also  of  glimpses  of  the  grounds  which  lay 
further  in  the  rear.  In  addition  to  the  covering  of 
the  roofs,  and  of  the  massive  frame- work  of  the 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  183 

building,  an  interior  partition  of  timber  protected 
the  place  against  the  entrance  of  most  missiles  then 
known  in  the  warfare  of  the  country.  During  the 
infancy  of  the  children,  this  room  had  been  their 
sleeping  apartment ;  nor  was  it  abandoned  for  that 
purpose,  until  the  additional  outworks,  which  in 
creased  with  time  around  the  dwellings,  had  em 
boldened  the  family  to  trust  themselves,  at  night, 
in  situations  more  convenient,  and  which  were  be 
lieved  to  be  no  less  equally  secure  against  surprise. 

"  I  know  thee  to  be  one  who  feeleth  the  obliga 
tions  of  a  warrior,"  said  Ruth,  as  she  ushered  her 
follower  into  the  presence  of  the  children.  "  Thou 
wilt  not  deceive  me ;  the  lives  of  these  tender  ones 
are  in  thy  keeping.  Look  to  them,  Miantonimoh, 
and  the  Christian's  God  will  remember  thee  in  thine 
own  hour  of  necessity  !" 

The  boy  made  no  reply,  but  in  a  gentle  expres 
sion  which  was  visible  in  his  dark  visage,  the  mother 
endeavored  to  find  the  pledge  she  sought.  Then, 
as  the  youth,  with  the  delicacy  of  his  race,  moved 
aside  in  order  that  they  who  were  bound  to  each 
other  by  ties  so  near  might  indulge  their  feelings 
without  observation,  Ruth  again  drew  near  her  off 
spring,  with  all  the  tenderness  of  a  mother  beaming 
in  her  eyes. 

"  Once  more  I  bid  thee  not  to  look  too  curiously 
at  the  fearful  strife  that  may  arise  in  front  of  our 
habitations,"  she  said.  "  The  heathen  is  truly  upon 
us,  with  bloody  mind ;  young,  as  well  as  old,  must 
now  show  faith  in  the  protection  of  our  master,  and 
such  courage  as  befitteth  believers." 

"  And  why  is  it,  mother,"  demanded  her  child, 
"that  they  seek  to  do  us  harm?  have  we  ever  done 
evil  to  them?" 

"  I  may  not  say.  He  that  hath  made  the  earth 
hath  given  it  to  us  for  our  uses,  and  reason  would 


184  THE    WEPT 

seem  to  teach  that  if  portions  of  its  surface  are  va 
cant,  he  that  needeth  truly,  may  occupy." 

"  The  savage !"  whispered  the  child,  nestling 
still  nearer  to  the  bosom  of  her  stooping  parent. 
"  His  eye  glittereth  like  the  star  which  hangs  above 
the  trees." 

"Peace,  daughter;  his  fierce  nature  broodeth 
over  some  fancied  wrong !" 

"  Surely,  we  are  here  rightfully.  I  have  heard 
my  father  say,  that  when  the  Lord  made  me  a 
present  to  his  arms,  our  valley  was  a  tangled  forest, 
and  that  much  toil  only  has  made  it  as  it  is." 

I  hope  that  what  we  enjoy,  we  enjoy  rightfully! 
And  yet  it  seemeth  that  the  savage  is  ready  to 
deny  our  claims." 

"  And  where  do  these  bloody  enemies  dwell?  have 
they,  too,  valleys  like  this,  and  do  the  Christians 
break  into  them  to  shed  blood,  in  the  night  ?" 

"  They  are  of  wild  and  fierce  habits,  Ruth,  and 
little  do  they  know  of  our  manner  of  life.  Wo 
man  is  not  cherished  as  among  the  people  of  thy 
father's  race,  for  force  of  body  is  more  regarded 
than  kinder  ties." 

The  little  auditor  shuddered,  and  when  she  buri 
ed  her  face  deeper  in  the  bosom  of  her  parent,  it 
was  with  a  more  quickened  sense  of  maternal  af 
fection,  and  with  a  livelier  view,  than  her  infant 
perception  had  ever  yet  known,  of  the  gentle  char 
ities  of  kindred.  When  she  had  spoken,  the  matron 
impressed  the  final  kiss  on  the  forehead  of  each  of 
the  children,  and  asking,  aloud,  that  God  might 
bless  them,  she  turned  to  go  to  the  performance  of 
duties  that  called  for  the  exhibition  of  very  differ- 
ent  qualities.  Before  quitting  the  room,  however, 
she  once  more  approached  the  boy,  and,  holding  the 
light  before  his  steady  eye,  she  said  solemnly — 

"  I  trust  my  babes  to  the  keeping  of  a  young 
warrior  1" 


or  WISH-TON- WISH.  185 

The  look  he  returned  was  like  the  others,  cold 
but  not  discouraging.  A  gaze  of  many  moments 
elicited  no  reply ;  and  Ruth  prepared  to  quit  the 
place,  troubled  by  uncertainty  concerning  the  inten 
tions  of  the  guardian  she  left  with  the  girls,  while 
she  still  trusted  that  the  many  acts  of  kindness 
which  she  had  shown  him,  during  his  captivity, 
would  not  go  without  their  reward.  Her  hand  rested 
on  the  bolt  of  the  door,  in  indecision.  The  moment 
was  favorable  to  the  character  of  the  youth,  for  she 
recalled  the  manner  of  his  return  that  night,  no  less 
than  his  former  acts  of  faith,  and  she  was  about  to 
leave  the  passage  for  his  egress  open,  when  an 
uproar  arose  on  the  air  which  Killed  the  valley  with 
all  the  hideous  cries  and  yells  of  a  savage  onset. 
Drawing  the  bolt,  the  startled  woman  descended, 
without  further  thought,  and  rushed  to  her  post, 
with  the  hurry  of  one  who  saw  only  the  necessity 
of  exertion  in  another  scene. 

"  Stand  to  the  timbers,  Reuben  Ring !  Bear  back 
the  skulking  murderers  on  their  bloody  followers ! 
The  pikes !  Here,  Dudley  is  opening  for  thy  valor. 
The  Lord  have  mercy  on  the  souls  of  the  ignorant 
heathen !"  mingled  with  the  reports  of  musketry, 
the  whoops  of  the  warriors,  the  whizzing  of  bullets 
and  arrows,  with  all  the  other  accompaniments  of 
such  a  contest,  were  the  fearful  sounds  that  saluted 
the  senses  of  Ruth  as  she  issued  into  the  court.  The 
valley  was  occasionally  lighted  by  the  explosion  of 
fire-arms,  and  then,  at  times,  the  horrible  din  pre 
vailed  in  the  gloom  of  deep  darkness.  Happily,  in 
the  midst  of  all  this  confusion  and  violence,  the 
young  men  of  the  valley  were  true  to  their  duties. 
An  alarming  attempt  to  scale  the  stockade  had 
already  been  repulsed,  and,  the  true  character  of 
two  or  three  feints  having  been  ascertained,  the 
principal  force  of  the  garrison  was  now  actively 
employed  in  resisting  the  main  attack. 
16* 


186  THE    WEPT 

"  In  the  name  of  him  who  is  with  us  in  every 
danger!"  exclaimed  Ruth,  advancing  to  two  figures 
that  were  so  busily  engaged  in  their  own  concerns, 
as  not  to  heed  her  approach,  "  tell  me  how  goes 
the  struggle?  Where  are  my  husband  and  the  boy? 
—or  has  it  pleased  Providence  that  any  of  our 
people  should  be  stricken?" 

"It  hath  pleased  the  Devil,"  returned  Eben 
Dudley,  somewhat  irreverently  for  one  of  that 
chastened  school,  "to  send  an  Indian  arrow  through 
jerkin  and  skin,  into  this  arm  of  mine  !  Softly,  Faith; 
dost  think,  girl,  that  the  covering  of  man  is  like 
the  coat  of  a  sheep,  from  which  the  fleece  may  be 
plucked  at  will !  I  am  no  moulting  fowl,  nor  is  this 
arrow  a  feather  of  my  wing.  The  Lord  forgive  the 
rogue  for  the  ill  turn  he  hath  done  my  flesh,  say  I, 
and  amen  like  a  Christian !  he  will  have  occasion 
too  for  the  mercy,  seeing  he  hath  nothing  further 
to  hope  for  in  this  world.  Now,  Faith,  I  acknowledge 
the  debt  of  thy  kindness,  and  let  there  be  no  more 
cutting  speech  between  us.  Thy  tongue  often  prick- 
eth  more  sorely  than  the  Indian's  arrow." 

"Whose  fault  is  it  that  old  acquaintance  hath 
sometimes  been  overlooked,  in  new  conversations  ? 
Thou  knowest  that,  wooed  by  proper  speech,  no 
maiden  in  the  Colony  is  wont  to  render  gentler 
answer.  Dost  feel  uneasiness  in  thine  arm,  Dudley?" 

"  'Tis  not  tickling  with  a  straw,  to  drive  a  flint- 
headed  arrow  to  the  bone !  I  forgive  thee  the  matter 
of  too  much  discourse  with  the  trooper,  and  all  the 
side-cuts  of  thy  over-ambling  tongue,  on  conditions 
that " 

"Out  upon  thee,  brawler!  wouldst  be  prating 
here  the  night  long  on  pretence  of  a  broken  skin, 
and  the  savage  at  our  gates  ?  A  fine  character  will 
the  Madam  render  of  thy  deeds,  when  the  other 
youths  have  beaten  back  the  Indian,  and  thou 
loitering  among  the  buildings !" 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  187 

The  discomfited  borderer  was  about  to  curse  in 
his  heart  the  versatile  humor  of  his  mistress,  when 
he  saw,  by  a  side-glance,  that  ears  which  had  no 
concern  in  the  subject,  had  liked  to  have  shared  in 
the  matter  of  their  discourse.  Seizing  the  weapon 
which  was  leaning  against  the  foundation  of  the 
block,  he  hurried  past  the  mistress  of  the  family, 
and,  in  another  minute,  his  voice  and  his  musket 
were  again  heard  ringing  in  the  uproar. 

"  Does  he  bring  tidings  from  the  palisadoes  I9 
repeated  Ruth,  too  anxious  that  the  young  man 
should  return  to  his  post,  to  arrest  his  retreat. 
"What  saith  he  of  the  onset?" 

"  The  savage  hath  suffered  for  his  boldness,  and 
little  harm  hath  yet  come  to  our  people.  Except 
that  yon  block  of  a  man  hath  managed  to  put  arm 
before  the  passage  of  an  arrow,  I  know  not  that 
any  of  our  people  have  been  harmed." 

"  Hearken !  they  retire,  Ruth.  The  yells  are  less 
near,  and  our  young  men  will  prevail !  Go  thou  to 
thy  charge  among  the  piles  of  the  fuel,  and  see  that 
no  lurker  remaineth  to  do  injury.  The  Lord  hath 
remembered  mercy,  and  it  may  yet  arrive  that  this 
evil  shall  pass  away  from  before  us !" 

The  quick  ear  of  Ruth  had  not  deceived  her. 
The  tumult  of  the  assault  was  gradually  receding 
from  the  works,  and  though  the  flashings  of  the 
muskets  and  the  bellowing  reports  that  rang  in  the 
surrounding  forest  were  not  less  frequent  than  before, 
it  was  plain  that  the  critical  moment  of  the  onset 
was  already  past.  In  place  of  the  fierce  effort  to 
carry  the  place  by  surprise,  the  savages  had  now 
resorted  to  means  that  were  more  methodical,  and 
which,  though  not  so  appalling  in  appearance,  were 
perhaps  quite  as  certain  of  final  success.  Ruth 
profited  by  a  momentary  cessation  in  the  flight  of 
the  missiles,  to  seek  those  in  whose  welfare  she  had 
placed  her  chief  concern. 


188  THE    WEPT 

"Has  other,  than  brave  Dudley,  suffered  by  this 
assault  ?"  demanded  the  anxious  wife,  as  she  passed 
swiftly  among  a  group  of  dusky  figures  that  were 
collected  in  consultation,  on  the  brow  of  the  decliv 
ity ;  "has  any  need  of  such  care  as  a  woman's  hand 
may  bestow?  Heathcote,  thy  person  is  unharmed  1" 

''Truly,  one  of  great  mercy  hath  watched  over 
it,  for  little  opportunity  hath  been  given  to  look  to 
our  own  safety.  I  fear  that  some  of  our  young  men 
have  not  regarded  the  covers  with  the  attention 
that  prudence  requires." 

"The  thoughtless  Mark  hath  not  forgotten  my 
admonitions!  Boy,  thou  hast  never  lost  sight  of  duty 
so  far  as  to  precede  thy  father  ?" 

"One  sees  or  thinks  but  little  of  the  red-skins, 
when  the  whoop  is  ringing  among  the  timbers  of 
the  palisadoes,  mother,"  returned  the  boy,  dashing 
his  hand  across  his  brow,  in  order  that  the  drops  of 
blood  which  were  trickling  from  a  furrow  left  by 
the  passage  of  an  arrow,  might  not  be  seen.  "I 
have  kept  near  my  father,  but  whether  in  his  front, 
or  in  his  rear,  the  darkness  hath  not  permitted  me 
to  note." 

"The  lad  hath  behaved  in  a  bold  and  seemly 
manner,"  said  the  stranger;  "and  he  hath  shown 
the  metal  of  his  grandsire's  stock — ha !  what  is 't  we 
see  gleaming  among  the  sheds  ?  A  sortie  may  be 
needed,  to  save  the  granaries  and  thy  folds  from 
destruction !" 

"  To  the  barns !  to  the  barns  !"  shouted  two  of 
the  youths,  from  their  several  look-outs.  "The 
brand  is  in  the  buildings!"  exclaimed  a  maiden  who 
discharged  a  similar  duty  under  cover  of  the  dwell 
ings.  Then  followed  a  discharge  of  muskets,  all  of 
which  were  levelled  at  the  glancing  light  that  was 
glaring  in  fearful  proximity  to  the  combustible  ma 
terials  which  filled  the  most  of  the  out-buildings. 
A  savage  yell,  and  the  sudden  extinguishment  of  the 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  189 

blazing  knot,  announced  the  fatal  accuracy  of  the 
aim. 

"This  may  not  be  neglected!"  exclaimed  Content, 
nnoved  to  extraordinary  excitement  by  the  extrem- 
ty  of  the  danger.  "Father!"  he  called  aloud,  "'tis 
itting  time  to  show  our  utmost  strength." 

A  moment  of  suspense  succeeded  this  summons. 
The  whole  valley  was  then  as  suddenly  lighted,  as 
if  a  torrent  of  the  electric  fluid  had  flashed  across 
its  gloomy  bed ;  a  sheet  of  flame  glanced  from  the 
ittic  of  the  block,  and  then  came  the  roar  of  the 
little  piece  of  artillery,  which  had  so  long  dwelt 
there  in  silence.  The  rattling  of  a  shot  among  the 
sheds,  and  the  rending  of  timber,  followed.  Fifty 
dark  forms  were  seen,  by  the  momentary  light, 
gliding  from  among  the  out-buildings,  in  an  alarm 
natural  to  their  ignorance,  and  with  an  agility  pro 
portioned  to  their  alarm.  The  moment  was  propi 
tious.  Content  silently  motioned  to  Reuben  Ring ; 
they  passed  the  postern  together,  and  disappeared 
in  the  direction  of  the  barns.  The  period  of  their 
absence  was  one  of  intense  care  to  Ruth,  and  it  was 
not  without  its  anxiety  even  to  those  whose  nerves 
were  better  steeled.  A  few  moments,  however, 
served  to  appease  these  feelings;  for  the  adven 
turers  returned  in  safety,  and  as  silently  as  they 
had  quitted  the  defences.  The  trampling  of  feet  on 
the  crust  of  the  snow,  the  neighing  of  horses,  and  the 
bellowing  of  frightened  cattle,  as  the  terrified  beasts 
scattered  about  the  fields,  soon  proclaimed  the 
object  of  the  risk  which  had  just  been  run. 

"Enter!"  whispered  Ruth,  who  held  the  postern 
with  her  own  hand.  "  Enter,  of  Heaven's  mercy ! 
Thou  hast  given  liberty  to  every  hoof,  that  no  liv 
ing  creature  perish  by  the  flames  ?" 

"  All ;  and  truly  not  too  speedily — for,  see — the 
brand  is  again  at  work  !" 

Content  had  much  reason  to  felicitate  himself  on 


190  THE    WEPT 

his  expedition ;  for,  even  while  he  spoke,  half-con 
cealed  torches,  made  as  usual  of  blazing  knots  of 
pine,  were  again  seen  glancing  across  the  fields,  evi 
dently  approaching  the  out-buildings  by  such  indi 
rect  and  covered  paths,  as  might  protect  those  who 
bore  them  from  the  shot  of  the  garrison.  A  final 
and  common  effort  was  made  to  arrest  the  danger. 
The  muskets  of  the  young  men  were  active,  and 
more  than  once  did  the  citadel  of  the  stern  old  Pu 
ritan  give  forth  its  flood  of  flame,  in  order  to  beat 
back  the  dangerous  visitants.  A  few  shrieks  of  sav 
age  disappointment  and  of  bodily  anguish,  announced 
the  success  of  these  discharges ;  but,  though  most 
of  those  who  approached  the  barns  were  either 
driven  back  in  fear,  or  suffered  for  their  temerity, 
one  among  them,  more  wary  or  more  practised  than 
his  companions,  found  means  to  effect  his  object. 
The  firing  had  ceased,  and  the  besieged  were  con 
gratulating  themselves  on  success,  when  a  sudden 
light  glared  across  the  fields.  A  sheet  of  flame  soon 
came  curling  over  the  crest  of  a  wheat-stack,  and 
quickly  wrapped  the  inflammable  material  in  its 
fierce  torrent.  Against  this  destruction  there  re 
mained  no  remedy.  The  barns  and  inclosures  which, 
so  lately,  had  been  lying  in  the  darkness  of  the  hour, 
were  instantly  illuminated,  and  life  would  have  been 
the  penalty  paid  by  any  of  either  party,  who  should 
dare  to  trust  his  person  within  the  bright  glare.  The 
borderers  were  soon  compelled  to  fall  back,  even 
within  the  shadows  of  the  hill,  and  to  seek  such 
covers  as  the  stockades  offered,  in  order  to  avoid  the 
aim  of  the  arrow  or  the  bullet. 

"  This  is  a  mournful  spectacle  to  one  that  has 
harvested  in  charity  with  all  men  ;"  said  Content  to 
the  trembler  who  convulsively  grasped  his  arm, 
as  the  flame  whirled  in  the  currents  of  the  heated 
air,  and,  sweeping  once  or  twice  across  the  roof  of  a 
shed,  left  a  portion  of  its  torrent  creeping  insidiously 


OF  WISH-TON-\MSH.  191 

along  the  wooden  covering.  "  The  in-gathering  of 
a  blessed  season  is  about  to  melt  into  ashes,  before 
the  brand  of  these  accur " 

"  Peace,  Heathcote !  What  is  wealth,  or  the  ful 
ness  of  thy  granaries,  to  that  which  remains  ]  Check 
these  repinings  of  thy  spirit,  and  bless  God  that  he 
leaveth  us  our  babes,  and  the  safety  of  our  innei 
roofs." 

"  Thou  sayest  truly,"  returned  the  husband,  en 
deavoring  to  imitate  the  meek  resignation  of  his 
companion.  "What  indeed  are  the  gifts  of  the 
world,  set  in  the  balance  against  the  peace  of  mind 
— ha!  that  evil  blast  of  wind  sealeth  the  destruction 
of  our  harvest!  The  fierce  element  is  in  the  heart 
of  the  granaries." 

Ruth  made  no  reply,  for  though  less  moved  by 
worldly  cares  than  her  husband,  the  frightful  pro 
gress  of  the  conflagration  alarmed  her  with  a  sense 
of  personal  danger.  The  flames  had  passed  from 
roof  to  roof,  and  meeting  everywhere  with  fuel  of 
the  most  combustible  nature,  the  whole  of  the  vast 
range  of  barns,  sheds,  granaries,  cribs  and  out-build 
ings,  was  just  breaking  forth  in  the  brightness  of  a 
torrent  of  fire.  Until  this  moment,  suspense,  with 
hope  on  one  side  and  apprehension  on  the  other, 
had  kept  both  parties  mute  spectators  of  the  scene. 
But  yells  of  triumph  soon  proclaimed  the  delight 
with  which  the  Indians  witnessed  the  completion  of 
their  fell  design.  The  whoops  followed  this  burst  of 
pleasure,  and  a  third  onset  was  made. 

The  combatants  now  fought  under  a  brightness 
which,  though  less  natural,  was  scarcely  less  bril 
liant  than  that  of  noon-day.  Stimulated  by  the 
prospect  of  success,  which  was  offered  by  the  con 
flagration,  the  savages  rushed  upon  the  stockade 
with  more  audacity  than  it  was  usual  to  display  in 
their  cautious  warfare.  A  broad  shadow  was  cast, 
by  the  hill  and  its  buildings,  across  the  fields  on  the 


192  THE  WEPT 

side  opposite  to  the  flames,  and  through  this  helt  of 
comparative  gloom,  the  fiercest  of  the  band  made 
their  way  to  the  very  palisadoes,  with  impunity. 
Their  presence  was  announced  by  the  yell  of  delight, 
for  too  many  curious  eyes  had  been  drinking  in  the 
fearful  beauty  of  the  conflagration,  to  note  their  ap 
proach,  until  the  attack  had  nearly  proved  success 
ful.  The  rushes  to  the  defence,  and  to  the  attack, 
were  now  alike  quick  and  headlong.  Volleys  were 
useless,  for  the  timbers  offered  equal  security  to  both 
assailant  and  assailed.  It  was  a  struggle  of  hand  to 
hand,  in  which  numbers  would  have  prevailed,  had 
it  not  been  the  good  fortune  of  the  weaker  party  to 
act  on  the  defensive.  Blows  of  the  knife  were  pass 
ed  swiftly  between  the  timbers,  and  occasionally  the 
discharge  of  the  musket,  or  the  twanging  of  the  bow, 
was  heard. 

"  Stand  to  the  timbers,  my  men !"  said  the  deep 
tones  of  the  stranger,  who  spoke  in  the  midst  of  the 
fierce  struggle  with  that  commanding  and  stirring 
cheerfulness  that  familiarity  with  danger  can  alone 
inspire.  "  Stand  to  the  defences,  and  they  are  im 
passable.  Ha!  'twas  well  meant,  friend  savage," 
he  muttered  between  his  teeth,  as  he  parried,  at 
some  jeopardy  to  one  hand,  a  thrust  aimed  at  his 
throat,  while  with  the  other  he  seized  the  warrior 
who  had  inflicted  the  blow,  and  drawing  his  naked 
breast,  with  the  power  of  a  giant,  full  against  the 
opening  between  the  timbers,  he  buried  his  own 
keen  blade  to  its  haft  in  the  body.  The  eyes  of  the 
victim  rolled  wildly,  and  when  the  iron  hand  which 
bound  him  to  the  wood,  with  the  power  of  a  vi£e, 
loosened  its  grasp,  he  fell  motionless  on  the  earth. 
This  death  was  succeeded  by  the  usual  yell  of 
disappointment,  and  the  assailants  disappeared,  as 
swiftly  as  they  had  approached. 

*•  God  be  praised,  that  we  have  to  rejoice  in  this 
advantage !"  said  Content,  enumerating  the  individ- 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  193 

uals  of  his  force,  with  an  anxious  eye,  when  all  were 
again  assembled  at  the  stand  on  the  hill,  where,  fa 
vored  hy  the  glaring  light,  they  could  overlook,  in 
comparative  security,  the  more  exposed  parts  of 
their  defences.  "  We  count  our  own,  though  I  fear 
me,  many  may  have  suffered." 

The  silence  and  the  occupations  of  his  listeners, 
most  of  whom  were  stanching  their  blood,  was  a 
sufficient  answer. 

"Hist,  father!"  said  the  quick-eyed  and  observant 
Mark ;  "  one  remaineth  on  the  palisado  nearest  the 
wicket.  Is  it  a  savage?  or  do  I  see  a  stump,  in  the 
field  beyond?" 

All  eyes  followed  the  direction  of  the  hand  of  the 
speaker,  and  there  was  seen,  of  a  certainty,  some 
thing  clinging  to  the  inner  side  of  one  of  the  timbers, 
that  bore  a  marked  resemblance  to  the  human  form. 
The  part  of  the  stockades,  where  the  seeming  figure 
clung,  lay  more  in  obscurity  than  the  rest  of  the 
defences,  and  doubts  as  to  its  character  were  not 
alone  confined  to  the  quick-sighted  lad  who  had  first 
detected  its  presence. 

"  Who  hangs  upon  our  palisadoes  ?"  called  Eben 
Dudley.  "  Speak,  that  we  do  not  harm  a  friend  !" 

The  wood  itself  was  not  more  immovable  than 
the  dark  object,  until  the  report  of  the  borderer's 
musket  was  heard,  and  then  it  came  tumbling  to 
the  earth  like  an  insensible  mass. 

"  Fallen  like  a  stricken  bear  from  his  tree !  Life 
was  in  it,  or  no  bullet  of  mine  could  have  loosened 
the  hold !"  exclaimed  Dudley,  a  little  in  exultation, 
as  he  saw  the  success  of  his  aim. 

"  I  will  go  forward,  and  see  that  he  is  past " 

The  mouth  of  young  Mark,  was  stopped  by  the 
hand  of  the  stranger,  who  calmly  observed — 

"  I  will  look  into  the  fate  of  the  heathen,  myself." 
He  was  about  to  proceed  to  the  spot,  when  the  sup 
posed  dead,  or  wounded  man,  sprang  to  his  feet,  with 
17 


194  THE    WEPT 

a  yell  that  rang  in  echoes  along  the  margin  of  the 
forest,  and  bounded  towards  the  cover  of  the  build 
ings,  with  high  and  active  leaps.  Two  or  three  mus 
kets  sent  their  streaks  of  flame  across  his  path,  but 
seemingly  without  success.  Jumping  in  a  manner  to 
elude  the  certainty  of  their  fire,  the  unharmed  sav 
age  gave  forth  another  yell  of  triumph,  and  disap 
peared  among  the  angles  of  the  dwellings.  His  cries 
were  understood,  for  answering  whoops  were  heard 
in  the  fields,  and  the  foe  without  again  rallied  to  the 
attack. 

"  This  may  not  be  neglected,"  said  he  who,  more 
by  his  self-possession  and  air  of  authority,  than  by 
any  known  right  to  command,  had  insensibly  as 
sumed  so  much  authority  in  the  important  business 
of  that  night.  "  One  like  this,  within  our  walls,  may 
quickly  bring  destruction  on  the  garrison.  The  pos 
tern  may  be  opened  to  an  inroad " 

"  A  triple  lock  secures  it,"  interrupted  Content. 
"  The  key  is  hid  where  none  know  to  seek  it,  other 
than  such  as  are  of  our  household." 

"  And  happily  the  means  of  passing  the  private 
wicket  are  in  my  possession,"  muttered  the  other, 
in  an  under  tone.  "  So  far,  well ;  but  the  brand ! 
the  brand !  the  maidens  must  look  to  the  fires  and 
lights,  while  the  youths  make  good  the  stockade, 
since  this  assault  admitteth  not  of  further  delay." 

So  saying,  the  stranger  gave  an  example  of  cour 
age  by  proceeding  to  his  stand  at  the  pickets,  where, 
supported  by  his  companions,  he  continued  to  defend 
the  approaches  against  a  discharge  of  arrows  and 
bullets  that  was  more  distant,  but  scarcely  less  dan 
gerous  to  the  safety  of  those  who  showed  themselves 
on  the  side  of  the  acclivity,  than  those  which  had 
been  previously  showered  upon  the  garrison. 

In  the  mean  time,  Ruth  summoned  her  assistants, 
and  hastened  to  discharge  the  duty  which  had  just 
been  prescribed.  Water  was  cast  freely  on  all 


OF  WISH-ION-  WISH.  195 

the  fires,  and,  as  the  still  raging  conflagration  con- 
'  tinued  to  give  far  more  light  than  was  either  neces 
sary  or  safe,  care  was  taken  to  extinguish  any  torch 
or  candle  that,  in  the  hurry  of  alarm,  might  have 
been  left  to  moulder  in  its  socket,  throughout  the 
extensive  range  of  the  dwellings  and  the  offices. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

"  1  hou  mild,  sad  mother  — 

Quit  him  not  so  soon! 
Mother,  in  mercy,  stay  ! 

Despair  and  death  are  with  him  ;  and  canst  thou, 
With  that  kind,  earthward  look,  go  leave  him  now?" 

DANA. 

WHEN  these  precautions  were  taken,  the  females 
returned  to  their  several  look-outs;  and  Ruth,  whose 
duty  it  was  in  moments  of  danger  to  exercise  a  gen 
eral  superintendence,  was  left  to  her  meditations 
and  to  such  watchfulness  as  her  fears  might  excite. 
Quitting  the  inner  rooms,  she  approached  the  door 
that  communicated  with  the  court,  and  for  a  mo 
ment  lost  the  recollection  of  her  immediate  cares 
in  a  view  of  the  imposing  scene  by  which  she  was 
surrounded. 

By  this  time,  the  whole  of  the  vast  range  of  out 
buildings,  which  had  been  constructed,  as  was  usual 
in  the  Colonies,  of  the  most  combustible  materials 
and  with  no  regard  to  the  expenditure  of  wood,  was 
wrapt  in  fire.  Notwithstanding  the  position  of  the 
intermediate  edifices,  broad  flashes  of  light  were 
constantly  crossing  the  court  itself,  on  whose  surface 
she  was  able  to  distinguish  the  smallest  object,  while 
the  heavens  above  her  were  glaring  with  a  lurid 
red.  Through  the  openings  between  the  buildings 
of  the  quadrangle,  the  eye  could  look  out  upon  the 


196  THE  WEPT 

fields,  where  she  saw  every  evidence  of  a  sullen  in 
tention  on  the  part  of  the  savages  to  persevere  in 
their  object.  Dark,  fierce-looking,  and  nearly  naked 
human  forms  were  seen  flitting  from  cover  to  cover 
while  there  was  no  stump  nor  log  within  arrow's- 
flight  of  the  defences,  that  did  not  protect  the  per 
son  of  a  daring  and  indefatigable  enemy.  It  was 
plain  the  Indians  were  there  in  hundreds,  and  as 
the  assaults  continued  after  the  failure  of  a  surprise, 
it  was  too  evident  that  they  were  bent  on  victory, 
at  some  hazard  to  themselves.  No  usual  means  of 
adding  to  the  horrors  of  the  scene  were  neglected. 
Whoops  and  yells  were  incessantly  ringing  around 
the  place,  while  the  loud  and  often-repeated  tones 
of  a  conch  betrayed  the  artifice  by  which  the  sav 
ages  had  so  often  endeavored,  in  the  earlier  part  of 
the  night,  to  lure  the  garrison  out  of  the  palisadoes. 
A  few  scattering  shot,  discharged  with  deliberation 
and  from  every  exposed  point  within  the  works, 
proclaimed  both  the  coolness  and  the  vigilance  of 
the  defendants.  The  little  gun  in  the  block-house 
was  silent,  for  the  Puritan  knew  too  well  its  real 
power  to  lessen  its  reputation  by  a  too  frequent  use. 
The  weapon  was  therefore  reserved  for  those  mo 
ments  of  pressing  danger  that  would  be  sure  to  ar 
rive. 

On  this  spectacle  Ruth  gazed  in  fearful  sadness 
The  long-sustained  and  sylvan  security  of  her  abodf 
was  violently  destroyed ;  and  in  the  place  of  a  quicf 
which  had  approached  as  near  as  may  be  on  earth 
to  that  holy  peace  for  which  her  spirit  strove,  she 
and  all  she  isaost  loved  were  suddenly  confronted  to 
the  most  frightful  exhibition  of  human  horrors.  In 
such  a  moment,  the  feelings  of  a  mother  were  likely 
to  revive;  and  ere  time  was  given  for  reflection, 
aided  by  the  light  of  the  conflagration,  the  matron 
was  moving  swiftly  through  the  intricate  passages 


OF  WISH-TON- WISH.  197 

of   the  dwelling,  in  quest  of  (hose  whom  she  had 
placed  in  the  security  of  the  chambers. 

"  Thou  hast  remembered  to  avoid  looking  on  the 
fields,  my  children,"  said  the  nearly  breathless  wo 
man  as  she  entered  the  room.  "  Be  thankful,  babes; 
hitherto  the  efforts  of  the  savages  have  been  vain, 
and  we  still  remain  masters  of  our  habitations." 

"  Why  is  the  night  so  red  ?  Come  hither,  mother 
thou  mayest  look  into  the  wood  as  if  the  sun  were 
shining !" 

"The  heathens  have  fired  our  granaries,  and 
what  thou  seest  is  the  light  of  the  flames.  But 
happily  they  cannot  put  brand  into  the  dwellings, 
while  thy  father  and  the  young  men  stand  to  their 
weapons.  We  must  be  grateful  for  this  security, 
frail  as  it  seemeth.  Thou  hast  knelt,  my  Ruth ;  and 
hast  remembered  to  think  of  thy  father  and  brother 
in  thy  prayers." 

"  I  will  do  so  again,  mother,"  whispered  the  child, 
bending  to  her  knees,  and  wrapping  her  young  fea 
tures  in  the  garments  of  the  matron. 

"  Why  hide  thy  countenance  ?  One  young  and 
innocent  as  thou,  may  lift  thine  eyes  to  Heaven  with 
confidence." 

'•  Mother,  I  see  the  Indian,  unless  my  face  be 
hid.  He  looketh  at  me,  I  fear,  with  wish  to  do  us 
harm." 

"  Thou  art  not  just  to  Miantonimoh,  child,"  an 
swered  Ruth,  as  she  glanced  her  eye  rapidly  round 
to  seek  the  boy,  who  had  modestly  withdrawn  into 
a  remote  and  shaded  corner  of  the  room.  "  I  left 
him  with  thee  for  a  guardian,  and  not  as  one  who 
would  wish  to  injure.  Now  think  of  thy  God,  child," 
imprinting  a  kiss  on  the  cold,  marble-like  forehead 
of  her  daughter,  "  and  have  reliance  in  his  good 
ness.  Miantonimoh,  I  again  leave  you  with  a  charge 
to  be  their  protector,"  she  added ,  quitting  her  daugh- 
er  and  advancing  towards  the  youth. 


198  THE  WEPT 

"  Mother !"  shrieked  the  child,  "  come  to  me,  or 
1  die !" 

Ruth  turned  from  the  listening  captive,  with  the 
quickness  of  instinct.  A  glance  showed  her  the 
jeopardy  of  her  offspring.  A  naked  savage,  dark, 
powerful  of  frame,  and  fierce  in  the  frightful  mas 
querade  of"  his  war-paint,  stood  winding  the  silken 
hair  of  the  girl  in  one  hand,  while  he  already  held 
the  glittering  axe  above  a  head  that  seemed  inevi 
tably  devoted  to  destruction. 

"  Mercy  !  mercy  !"  exclaimed  Ruth,  hoarse  with 
horror,  and  dropping  to  her  knees,  as  much  from 
inability  to  stand  as  with  intent  to  petition.  "  Mon 
ster,  strike  me,  but  spare  the  child!" 

The  eyes  of  the  Indian  rolled  over  the  person  of 
the  speaker,  but  it  was  with  an  expression  that 
seemed  rather  to  enumerate  the  number  of  his  vic 
tims,  than  to  announce  any  change  of  purpose. 
With  a  fiend-like  coolness,  that  bespoke  much 
knowledge  of  the  ruthless  practice,  he  again  swung 
the  quivering  but  speechless  child  in  the  air,  and 
prepared  to  direct  the  weapon  with  a  fell  certainty 
of  aim.  The  tomahawk  had  made  its  last  circuit, 
and  an  instant  would  have  decided  the  fate  of  the 
victim,  when  the  captive  boy  stood  in  front  of  the 
frightful  actor  in  this  revolting  scene.  By  a  quick, 
forward  movement  of  his  arm,  the  blow  was  arrest 
ed.  The  deep  guttural  ejaculation,  which  betrays 
the  surprise  of  an  Indian,  broke  from  the  chest  of 
the  savage,  while  his  hand  fell  to  his  side,  and  the 
form,  of  the  suspended  girl  was  suffered  again  to 
touch  the  floor.  The  look  and  gesture  with  which 
the  boy  had  interfered,  expressed  authority  rather 
than  resentment  or  horror.  His  air  was  calm,  col 
lected,  and,  as  it  appeared  by  the  effect,  imposing. 

"  Go,"  he  said  in  the  language  of  the  fierce  peo 
ple  from  whom  he  had  sprung ;  "  the  warriors  of 
the  pale  men  are  calling  thee  by  name." 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  199 

"  The  snow  is  red  with  the  blood  of  our  young 
men,"  the  other  fiercely  answered;  "and  not  a 
scalp  is  at  the  belt  of  my  people." 

"  These  are  mine,"  returned  the  boy  with  dignity, 
sweeping  his  arm,  while  speaking,  in  a  manner  to 
show  that  he  extended  protection  to  all  present. 

The  warrior  gazed  about  him  grimly,  and  like 
one  but  half-convinced.  He  had  incurred  a  danger 
too  fearful,  in  entering  the  stockade,  to  be  easily 
diverted  from  his  purpose. 

"  Listen !"  he  continued,  after  a  short  pause,  dur 
ing  which  the  artillery  of  the  Puritan  had  again 
bellowed  in  the  uproar,  without.  "  The  thunder  is 
with  the  Yengeese!  Our  young  women  will  look 
another  way  and  call  us  Pequots,  should  there  be 
no  scalps  on  our  pole." 

For  a  single  moment,  the  countenance  of  the  boy 
changed,  and  his  resolution  seemed  to  waver.  The 
other,  who  watched  his  eyes  with  longing  eagerness, 
again  seized  his  victim  by  the  hair,  when  Ruth 
shrieked  in  the  accents  of  despair — 

"  Boy  !  boy !  if  thou  art  not  with  us,  God  hath 
deserted  us !" 

"  She  is  mine,"  burst  fiercely  from  the  lips  of  the 
lad.  "  Hear  my  words,  Wompahwisset ;  the  blood 
of  my  father  is  very  warm  within  me." 

The  other  paused,  and  the  blow  was  once  more 
suspended.  The  glaring  eye-balls  of  the  savage 
rested  intently  on  the  swelling  form  and  stern  coun 
tenance  of  the  young  hero,  whose  uplifted  hand 
appeared  to  menace  instant  punishment,  should  he 
dare  to  disregard  the  mediation.  The  lips  of  the 
warrior  severed,  and  the  word  '  Miantonimoh'  was 
uttered  as  softly  as  if  it  recalled  a  feeling  of  sor 
row.  Then,  as  a  sudden  burst  of  yells  rose  above 
the  roar  of  the  conflagration,  the  fierce  Indian 
turned  in  his  tracks,  and,  abandoning  the  trembling 


200  THE    WEPT 

and  nearly  insensible  child,  he  bounded  away  like 
a  hound  loosened  on  a  fresh  scent  of  blood. 

"Boy!  boy!"  murmured  the  mother;  "heathen 
or  Christian,  there  is  one  that  will  bless  thee  ' — " 

A  rapid  gesture  of  the  hand  interrupted  the 
fervent  expression  of  her  gratitude.  Pointing  after 
the  form  of  the  retreating  savage,  the  lad  encircled 
his  own  head  with  a  finger,  in  a  manner  that  could 
not  be  mistaken,  as  he  uttered  steadily,  but  with  the 
deep  emphasis  of  an  Indian — 

"  The  young  Pale-face  has  a  scalp  !" 

Ruth  heard  no  more.  With  instinctive  rapidity, 
every  feeling  of  her  soul  quickened  nearly  to  agony, 
she  rushed  below,  in  order  to  warn  Mark  against 
the  machinations  of  so  fearful  an  enemy.  Her  step 
was  heard  but  for  a  moment  in  the  vacant  chambers, 
and  then  the  Indian  boy,  whose  steadiness  and  au 
thority  had  just  been  so  signally  exerted  in  favor 
of  the  children,  resumed  his  attitude  of  meditation, 
as  quietly  as  if  he  took  no  further  interest  in  the 
frightful  events  of  the  night. 

The  situation  of  the  garrison  was  now,  indeed,  to 
the  last  degree  critical.  A  torrent  of  fire  had  passed 
from  the  further  extremity  of  the  out-houses  to  that 
which  stood  nearest  to  the  defences,  and,  as  building 
after  building  melted  beneath  its  raging  power,  the 
palisadoes  became  heated  nearly  to  the  point  of 
ignition.  The  alarm  created  by  this  imminent  danger 
had  already  been  given,  and,  when  Ruth  issued 
into  the  court,  a  female  was  rushing  past  her,  seem 
ingly  on  some  errand  of  the  last  necessity. 

"  Hast  seen  him  T"  demanded  the  breathless  mo 
ther,  arresting  the  steps  of  the  quick-moving  girl. 

"  Not  since  the  savage  made  his  last  onset,  but  I 
warrant  me  he  may  be  found  near  the  western  loops, 
making  good  the  works  against  the  enemy !" 

"  Surely  he  is  not  foremost  in  the  fray !  Of  whom 
speakest  thou,  Faith  I  I  questioned  thee  of  Mark. 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  201 

There  is  one,  even  now,  raging  within  the  pickets, 
seeking  a  victim." 

"  Truly,  I  thought  it  had  been  question  of 

the  boy  is  with  his  father  and  the  stranger  soldier, 
who  does  such  deeds  of  valor  in  our  behalf.  I  have 
seen  no  enemy  within  the  palisadoes,  Madam  Heath- 
cote,  since  the  entry  of  the  man  who  escaped,  by 
favor  of  the  powers  of  darkness,  from  the  shot  of 
Eben  Dudley's  musket." 

"  And  is  this  evil  like  to  pass  from  us,"  resumed 
Ruth,  breathing  more  freely,  as  she  learned  the 
safety  of  her  son ;  "  or  does  Providence  veil  its  face 
in  anger  ?" 

"  We  keep  our  own,  though  the  savage  hath 
pressed  the  young  men  to  extremity.  Oh !  it  glad 
dened  heart  to  see  how  brave  a  guard  Reuben  Ring, 
and  others  near  him,  made  in  our  behalf.  I  do  think 
me,  Madam  Heathcote,  that,  after  all,  there  is  real 
manhood  in  the  brawler  Dudley !  Truly,  the  youth 
hath  done  marvels  in  the  way  of  exposure  and 
resistance.  Twenty  times  this  night  have  I  expected 
to  see  him  slain." 

"  And  he  that  lyeth  there  ?"  half- whispered  the 
alarmed  Ruth,  pointing  to  a  spot  near  them,  where, 
aside  from  the  movements  of  those  who  still  acted 
in  the  bustle  of  the  combat,  one  lay  stretched  on 
the  earth— "who -hath  fallen?" 

The  cheek  of  Faith  blanched  to  a  whiteness  that 
nearly  equalled  that  of  the  linen,  which,  even  in 
the  hurry  of  such  a  scene,  some  friendly  hand  had 
found  leisure  to  throw,  in  decent  sadness,  over  the 
form. 

"That!"  said  the  faltering  girl;  "though  hurt 
and  bleeding,  my  brother  Reuben  surely  keepeth 
the  loop  at  the  western  angle ;  nor  is  Whittal  wanting 
in  sufficient  sense  to  take  heed  of  danger — This 
may  not  be  the  stranger,  for  under  the  covers  of  the 


202  THE    WEPT 

postern  breast-work  he  holdeth  counsel  with  the 
young  captain." 

"  Art  certain,  girl  ?" 

"  I  saw  them  both  within  the  minute.  Would  to 
God  we  could  hear  the  shout  of  noisy  Dudley,  Madam 
Heathcote :  his  cry  cheereth  the  heart,  in  a  moment 
awful  as  this !" 

"  Lift  the  cloth,"  said  Ruth  with  calm  solemnity, 
"  that  we  may  know  which  of  our  friends  hath  been 
called  to  the  great  account." 

Faith  hesitated,  and  when,  by  a  powerful  effort, 
in  which  secret  interest  had  as  deep  an  influence 
as  obedience,  she  did  comply,  it  was  with  a  sort  of 
desperate  resolution.  On  raising  the  linen,  the  eyes 
of  the  two  women  rested  on  the  pallid  countenance 
of  one  who  had  been  transfixed  by  an  iron-headed 
arrow.  The  girl  dropped  the  linen,  and  in  a  voice 
that  sounded  like  a  burst  of  hysterical  feeling,  she 
exclaimed — 

"  'Tis  but  the  youth  that  came  lately  among  us ! 
We  are  spared  the  loss  of  any  ancient  friend." 

"  Tis  one  who  died  for  our  safety.  I  would  give 
largely  of  this  world's  comforts,  that  this  calamity 
might  not  have  been,  or  that  greater  leisure  for  the 
last  fearful  reckoning  had  been  accorded.  But  we 
may  not  lose  the  moments  in  mourning.  Hie  thee, 
girl,  and  sound  the  alarm  that  a  savage  lurketh 
within  our  walls,  and  that  he  skulketh  in  quest  of  a 
secret  blow.  Bid  all  be  wary.  If  the  young  Mark 
should  cross  thy  path,  speak  to  him  twice  of  this 
danger ;  the  child  hath  a  froward  spirit,  and  may 
not  hearken  to  words  uttered  in  too  great  hurry." 

With  this  charge,  Ruth  quitted  her  maiden. 
While  the  latter  proceeded  to  give  the  necessary 
notice,  the  other  sought  the  spot  where  she  had 
just  learned  there  was  reason  to  believe  her  hus 
band  might  be  found. 

Content  and  the  stranger  were  in  fact  met  in 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  203 

consultation  over  the  danger  which  threatened  de 
struction  to  their  most  important  means  of  defence. 
The  savages  themselves  appeared  to  be  conscious 
that  the  flames  were  working  in  their  favor ;  for 
their  efforts  sensibly  slackened,  and  having  already 
severely  suffered  in  their  attempts  to  annoy  the 
garrison,  they  had  fallen  back  to  their  covers,  and 
awaited  the  moment  when  their  practised  cunning 
should  tell  them  they  might,  with  more  flattering 
promises  of  success,  again  rally  to  the  onset.  A  brief 
explanation  served  to  make  Ruth  acquainted  with 
the  imminent  jeopardy  of  their  situation.  Under  a 
sense  of  a  more  appalling  danger,  she  lost  the  re 
collection  of  her  former  purpose,  and  with  a  con 
tracted  and  sorrowing  eye,  she  stood  like  her  com 
panions,  in  impotent  helplessness,  an  entranced  spec 
tator  of  the  progress  of  the  destruction. 

"A  soldier  should  not  waste  words  in  useless 
plaints,"  observed  the  stranger,  folding  his  arms 
like  one  who  was  conscious  that  human  effort  could 
do  no  more, "  else  should  I  say,  'tis  pity  that  he  who 
drew  yon  line  of  stockade  hath  not  remembered 
the  uses  of  the  ditch." 

"I  will  summon  the  maidens  to  the  wells,"  said 
Ruth. 

"  'Twill  not  avail  us.  The  arrow  would  be  among 
them,  nor  could  mortal  long  endure  the  heat  of 
yon  glowing  furnace.  Thou  seest  that  the  timbers 
already  smoke  and  blacken,  under  its  fierceness." 

The  stranger  was  still  speaking,  when  a  small 
quivering  flame  played  on  the  corners  of  the  pali- 
sado  nearest  the  burning  pile.  The  element  flutter 
ed  like  a  waving  line  along  the  edges  of  the  heated 
wood,  after  which  it  spread  over  the  whole  surface 
of  the  timber,  from  its  larger  base  to  the  pointed 
summit.  As  if  this  had  merely  been  the  signal  of  a. 
general  destruction,  the  flames  kindled  in  fifty  places 
at  the  same  instant,  and  then  the  whole  line  o. 


204  THE  WEPT 

the  stockade,  nearest  the  conflagration,  was  cover 
ed  with  fire.  A  yell  of  triumph  arose  in  the  fields, 
and  a  flight  of  arrows,  sailing  tauntingly  into  the 
works,  announced  the  fierce  impatience  of  those 
who  watched  the  increase  of  the  conflagration. 

u  We  shall  be  driven  to  our  block,"  said  Content. 
"Assemble  thy  maidens,  Ruth,  and  make  speedy 
preparation  for  the  last  retreat." 

"I  go;  but  hazard  not  thy  life  in  any  vain  en 
deavor  to  retard  the  flames.  There  will  yet  be 
time  for  all  that  is  needful  to  our  security." 

"I  know  not,"  hurriedly  observed  the  stranger. 
"Here  cometh  the  assault  in  a  new  aspect !" 

The  feet  of  Ruth  were  arrested.  On  looking  up 
ward,  she  saw  the  object  which  had  drawn  this 
remark  from  the  last  speaker.  A  small  bright  ball 
of  fire  had  arisen  out  of  the  fields,  and,  describing 
an  arc  in  the  air,  it  sailed  above  their  heads  and 
fell  on  the  shingles  of  a  building  which  formed  part 
of  the  quadrangle  of  the  inner  court.  The  move 
ment  was  that  of  an  arrow  thrown  from  a  distant 
bow,  and  its  way  was  to  be  traced  by  a  long  trail 
of  light,  that  followed  its  course  like  a  blazing  me 
teor.  This  burning  arrow  had  been  sent  with  a  cool 
and  practised  judgment.  It  lighted  upon  a  portion 
of  the  combustibles  that  were  nearly  as  inflam 
mable  as  gunpowder,  and  the  eye  had  scarcely  suc 
ceeded  in  tracing  it  to  its  fall,  ere  the  bright  flames 
were  seen  stealing  over  the  heated  roof. 

"One  struggle  for  our  habitations!"'  cried  Con 
tent — but  the  hand  of  the  stranger  was  placed  firm 
ly  on  his  shoulder.  At  that  instant,  a  dozen  similai 
meteor-looking  balls  shot  into  the  air,  and  fell  in 
as  many  different  places  on  the  already  half-kin 
dled  pile.  Further  efforts  would  have  been  useless. 
Relinquishing  the  hope  of  saving  his  property,  every 
thought  was  now  given  to  personal  safety. 

Ruth  recovered  from  her  short  trance,  and  has- 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  205 

tenod  with  hurried  steps  to  perform  her  well-known 
office.  Then  came  a  few  minutes  of  exertion,  dur 
ing  which  the  females  transferred  all  that  was  ne 
cessary  to  their  subsistence,  and  which  had  not 
been  already  provided  in  the  block,  to  their  little 
citadel.  The  glowing  light,  which  penetrated  the 
darkest  passages  among  the  buildings,  prevented 
this  movement  from  being  made  without  discovery. 
The  whoop  summoned  their  enemies  to  another  at 
tack.  The  arrows  thickened  in  the  air,  and  the  im 
portant  duty  was  not  performed  without  risk,  as  all 
were  obliged,  in  some  degree,  to  expose  their  per 
sons,  while  passing  to  and  fro,  loaded  with  necessa 
ries.  The  gathering  smoke,  however,  served  in 
some  measure  for  a  screen ;  and  it  was  not  long  be 
fore  Content  received  the  welcome  tidings  that  he 
might  command  the  retreat  of  his  young  men  from 
the  palisadoes.  The  conch  sounded  the  necessary 
signal,  and  ere  the  foe  had  time  to  understand  its 
meaning,  or  profit  by  the  defenceless  state  of  the 
works,  every  individual  within  them  had  reached 
the  door  of  the  block  in  safety.  Still,  there  was 
more  of  hurry  and  confusion  than  altogether  com 
ported  with  their  safety.  They  who  were  assigned 
to  that  duty,  however,  mounted  eagerly  to  the  loops, 
and  stood  in  readiness  to  pour  out  their  fire  on  who 
ever  might  dare  to  come  within  its  reach,  while  a 
few  still  lingered  in  the  court,  to  see  that  no  neces 
sary  provision  for  resistance,  or  of  safety,  was  for 
gotten.  Ruth  had  been  foremost  in  exertion,  and 
she  now  stood  pressing  her  hands  to  her  temples, 
like  one  whose  mind  was  bewildered  by  her  own 
efforts. 

"  Our  fallen  friend !"  she  said.    "  Shall  we  leave 
his  remains  to  be  mangled  by  the  savage  ?" 

"  Surely  not ;  Dudley,  thy  hand.    We  will  bear 

the   body   within    the   lower ha!   death   hath 

struck  another  of  our  family." 
18 


206  THE    WEPT 

The  alarm  with  which  Content  made  this  dis 
covery  passed  quickly  to  all  in  hearing.  It  was  but 
too  apparent,  by  the  shape  of  the  linen,  that  two 
bodies  lay  beneath  its  folds.  Anxious  and  rapid 
looks  were  cast  from  face  to  face,  in  order  to  learn 
who  was  missing ;  and  then,  conscious  of  the  hazard 
of  further  delay,  Content  raised  the  linen,  in  order 
to  remove  all  doubts  by  certainty.  The  form  of  the 
young  borderer,  who  was  known  to  have  fallen, 
was  first  slowly  and  reverently  uncovered ;  but  even 
the  most  self-restrained  among  the  spectators  start 
ed  back  in  horror,  as  his  robbed  and  reeking  head 
showed  that  a  savage  hand  had  worked  its  ruthless 
will  on  the  unresisting  corpse. 

"  The  other  !"  Ruth  struggled  to  say,  and  it  was 
only  as  her  husband  had  half  removed  the  linen 
that  she  could  succeed  in  uttering  the  words — "Be 
ware  the  other !" 

The  warning  was  not  useless,  for  the  linen  waved 
violently  as  it  rose  under  the  hand  of  Content,  and 
a  grim  Indian  sprang  into  the  very  centre  of  the 
startled  group.  Sweeping  his  armed  hand  widely 
about  him,  the  savage  broke  through  the  receding 
circle,  and,  giving  forth  the  appalling  whoop  of  his 
tribe,  he  bounded  into  the  open  door  of  the  princi 
pal  dwelling,  so  swiftly  as  utterly  to  defeat  any  de 
sign  of  pursuit.  The  arms  of  Ruth  were  frantically 
extended  towards  the  place  where  he  had  disap 
peared,  and  she  was  about  to  rush  madly  on  his 
footsteps,  when  the  hand  of  her  husband  stopped 
the  movement. 

"Wouldst  hazard  life,  to  save  some  worthless 
trifle?" 

"Husband,  release  me!"  returned  the  woman, 
nearly  choked  with  her  agony — "  nature  hath  slept 
within  me!" 

"Fear  blindeth  thy  reason!" 

The  form  of  Ruth  ceased  to  struggle.     All  the 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  207 

madness,  which  had  been  glaring  wildly  about  her 
eyes,  disappeared  in  the  settled  look  of  an  almost 
preternatural  calm.  Ccllecting  the  whole  of  her 
mental  energy  in  one  desperate  effort  of  self-com 
mand,  she  turned  to  her  husband,  and,  as  her  bosom 
swelled  with  the  terror  that  seemed  to  stop  her 
breath,  she  said  in  a  voice  that  was  frightful  by  its 
composure — 

"If  thou  hast  a  father's  heart,  release  me! — Our 
babes  have  been  forgotten !" 

The  hand  of  Content  relaxed  its  hold,  and,  in 
another  instant,  the  form  of  his  wife  was  lost  to 
view  on  the  track  that  had  just  been  taken  by  the 
successful  savage.  This  was  the  luckless  moment 
chosen  by  the  foe  to  push  his  advantage.  A  fierce 
burst  of  yells  proclaimed  the  activity  of  the  assail 
ants,  and  a  general  discharge  from  the  loops  of  the 
block-house  sufficiently  apprised  those  in  the  court 
that  the  onset  of  the  enemy  was  now  pushed  into 
the  very  heart  of  the  defences.  All  had  mounted, 
but  the  few  who  lingered  to  discharge  the  melan 
choly  duty  to  the  dead.  They  were  too  few  to  ren 
der  resistance  prudent,  and  yet  too  many  to  think 
of  deserting  the  distracted  mother  and  her  offspring 
without  an  effort. 

"Enter,"  said  Content,  pointing  to  the  door  of 
the  block.  "  It  is  my  duty  to  share  the  fate  of  those 
nearest  my  blood." 

The  stranger  made  no  answer.  Placing  his  pow 
erful  hands  on  the  nearly  stupified  husband,  he 
thrust  his  person,  by  an  irresistible  effort,  within 
the  basement  of  the  building,  and  tjien  he  signed, 
by  a  quick  gesture,  for  all  around  Kim  to  follow. 
After  the  last  form  had  entered,  he  commanded 
that  the  fastenings  of  the  door  should  be  secured, 
remaining  himself,  as  he  believed,  alone  without. 
But  when  by  a  rapid  glance  he  saw  there  was 
another  gazing  ir  dull  awe  on  the  features  of  the 


208  THE    WEPT 

"alien  man,  it  was  too  late  to  rectify  the  mistake. 
Yells  were  now  rising  out  of  the  black  smoke,  that 
was  rolling  in  volumes  from  the  heated  buildings, 
and  it  was  plain  that  only  a  few  feet  divided  them 
from  their  pursuers.  Beckoning  the  man  who  had 
been  excluded  from  the  block  to  follow,  the  stern 
soldier  rushed  into  the  principal  dwelling,  which  was 
still  but  little  injured  by  the  fire.  Guided  rather  by 
chance  than  by  any  knowledge  of  the  windings  of  the 
building,  he  soon  found  himself  in  the  chambers.  He 
was  now  at  a  loss  whither  to  proceed.  At  that  mo 
ment,  his  companion,  who  was  no  other  than  Whittal 
Ring,  took  the  lead,  and  in  another  instant,  they 
were  at  the  door  of  the  secret  apartment. 

"  Hist !"  said  the  stranger,  raising  a  hand  to  com 
mand  silence  as  he  entered  the  room.  "  Our  hope  is 
in  secrecy." 

"And  how  may  we  escape  without  detection?" 
demanded  the  mother,  pointing  about  her  at  objects 
illuminated  by  a  light  so  powerful  as  to  penetrate 
every  cranny  of  the  ill-constructed  building.  "  The 
noon-day  sun  is  scarce  brighter  than  this  dreadful 
fire !" 

"  God  is  in  the  elements !  His  guiding  hand  shall 
point  the  way.  But  here  we  may  not  tarry,  for  the 
flames  are  already  on  the  shingles.  Follow,  and 
speak  not." 

Ruth  pressed  the  children  to  her  side,  and  the 
whole  party  left  the  apartment  of  the  attic  in  a 
body.  Their  descent  to  a  lower  room  was  made 
quickly,  and  without  discovery.  But  here  their  lead 
er  paused,  for  the  state  of  things  without  was  one 
to  demand  the*utmost  steadines  of  nerve,  and  great 
reflection. 

The  Indians  had  by  this  time  gained  command  of 
the  whole  of  Mark  Heathcote's  possessions,  with  the 
exception  )f  the  block-house ;  and  as  their  first  act 
had  been  to  apply  the  brand  wherever  it  might 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  209 

be  wanting,  the  roar  of  the  conflagration  was  now 
heard  in  every  direction.  The  discharge  of  muskets 
and  the  whoops  of  the  combatants,  however,  while 
they  added  to  the  horrible  din  of  such  a  scene,  pro 
claimed  the  unconquered  resolution  of  those  who 
held  the  citadel.  A  window  of  the  room  they  oc 
cupied  enabled  the  stranger  to  take  a  cautious  sur 
vey  of  what  was  passing  without.  The  court,  lighted 
to  the  brilliancy  of  day,  was  empty;  for  the  increas 
ing  heat  of  the  fires,  no  less  than  the  discharges  from 
the  loops,  still  kept  the  cautious  savages  to  their 
covers.  There  was  barely  hope,  that  the  space  be 
tween  the  dwelling  and  the  block-house  might  yet 
be  passed  in  safety. 

"  I  would  I  had  asked  that  the  door  of  the  block 
should  be  held  in  hand,"  muttered  Submission ;  "  it 
would  be  death  to  linger  an  instant  in  that  fierce 
light ;  nor  have  we  any  manner  of " 

A  touch  was  laid  upon  his  arm,  and  turning,  the 
speaker  saw  the  dark  eye  of  the  captive  boy  looking 
steadily  in  his  face. 

"  Wilt  do  it  1"  demanded  the  other,  in  a  manner 
to  show  that  he  doubted,  while  he  hoped. 

A  speaking  gesture  of  assent  was  the  answer,  and 
then  the  form  of  the  lad  was  seen  gliding  quietly 
from  the  room. 

Another  instant,  and  Miantonimoh  appeared  in 
the  court.  He  walked  with  the  deliberation  that 
one  would  have  shown  in  moments  of  the  most  en 
tire  security.  A  hand  was  raised  towards  the  loops, 
as  if  to  betoken  amity,  and  then  dropping  the  limb, 
he  moved  with  the  same  slow  step  into  the  very 
centre  of  the  area.  Here  the  boy  stood  in  the  fullest 
glare  of  the  conflagration,  and  turned  his  face  de 
liberately  on  every  side  of  him.  The  action  showed 
that  he  wished  to  invite  all  eyes  to  examine  his  per 
son.  At  this  moment  the  yells  ceased  in  the  surround 
ing  covers,  proclaiming  alike  the  common  feeling 
18* 


210  THE  WEPT 

that  was  awakened  by  his  appearance,  and  the 
hazard  that  any  other  would  have  incurred  by  ex 
posing  himself  in  that  fearful  scene.  When  this 
act  of  exceeding  confidence  had  been  performed, 
the  boy  drew  a  pace  nearer  to  the  entrance  of  the 
block. 

"  Comest  thou  in  peace,  or  is  this  another  device 
of  Indian  treachery  ?"  demanded  a  voice,  through 
an  opening  in  the  door  left  expressly  for  the  purposes 
of  parley. 

The  boy  raised  the  palm  of  one  hand  towards  the 
speaker,  while  he  laid  the  other  with  a  gesture  of 
confidence  on  his  naked  breast. 

"  Hast  aught  to  offer  in  behalf  of  my  wife  and 
babes?  If  gold  will  buy  their  ransom,  name  thy 
price." 

Miantonimoh  was  at  no  loss  to  comprehend  the 
other's  meaning.  With  the  readiness  of  one  whose 
faculties  had  been  early  schooled  in  the  inventions 
of  emergencies,  he  made  a  gesture  that  said  even 
more  than  his  figurative  words,  as  he  answered — 

•'Can  a  woman  of  the  Pale-faces  pass  through 
wood  ?  An  Indian  arrow  is  swifter  than  the  foot  of 
my  mother." 

"  Boy,  I  trust  thee,"  returned  the  voice  from  with 
in  the  loop.  "  If  thou  deceivest  beings  so  feeble  and 
so  innocent,  Heaven  will  remember  the  wrong." 

Miantonimoh  again  made  a  sign  to  show  that 
caution  must  be  used,  and  then  he  retired  with  a 
step  calm  and  measured  as  that  used  in  his  advance. 
Another  pause  to  the  shouts  betrayed  the  interest 
of  those  whose  fierce  eyes  watched  his  movements 
in  the  distance. 

When  the  young  Indian  had  rejoined  the  party  in 
the  dwelling,  he  led  them,  without  being  observed 
by  the  lurking  band  that  still  hovered  in  the  smoke 
of  the  surrounding  buildings,  to  a  spot  that  command 
ed  a  full  view  of  their  short  but  perilous  route.  At 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  211 

this  moment  the  door  of  the  block-house  half-opened, 
and  was  closed  again.  Still  the  stranger  hesitated, 
for  he  saw  how  little  was  the  chance  that  all  should 
cross  the  court  unharmed,  and  to  pass  it  by  repeated 
trials  he  knew  to  be  impossible. 

"  Boy,"  he  said,  "thou,  who  hast  done  thus  much, 
may  still  do  more.  Ask  mercy  for  these  children, 
in  some  manner  that  may  touch  the  hearts  of  thy 
people." 

Miantonimoh  shook  his  head,  and  pointing  to  the 
ghastly  corpse  that  lay  in  the  court,  he  answered 
coldly — 

"  The  red-man  has  tasted  blood." 

"  Then  must  the  desperate  trial  be  done !  Think 
not  of  thy  children,  devoted  and  daring  mother,  but 
look  only  to  thine  own  safety.  This  witless  youth 
and  I  will  charge  our&elves  with  the  care  of  the 
innocents." 

Ruth  waved  him  away  with  her  hand,  pressing 
her  mute  and  trembling  daughter  to  her  bosom,  in  a 
manner  to  show  that  her  resolution  was  taken.  The 
stranger  yielded,  and  turning  to  Whittal,  who  stood 
near  him,  seemingly  as  much  occupied  in  vacant  ad 
miration  of  the  blazing  piles  as  in  any  apprehension 
of  his  own  personal  danger,  he  bade  him  look  to  the 
safety  of  the  remaining  child.  Moving  in  front  him 
self,  he  was  about  to  offer  Ruth  such  protection  as 
the  case  afforded,  when  a  window  in  the  rear  of  the 
house  was  dashed  inward,  announcing  the  entrance 
of  the  enemy,  and  the  imminent  danger  that  their 
flight  would  be  intercepted.  There  was  no  time  to 
lose,  for  it  was  now  certain  that  only  a  single  room 
separated  them  from  their  foes.  The  generous  na 
ture  of  Ruth  was  roused,  and  catching  Martha  from 
the  arms  of  Whittal  Ring,  she  endeavored,  by  a 
desperate  effort,  in  which  feeling  rather  than  any 
reasonable  motive  predominated,  to  envelop  both 
the  children  in  her  robe. 


212  THE  WEPT 

"  I  am  with  ye  !"  whispered  the  agitated  womai*; 
"  hush  ye,  hush  ye,  babes  !  thy  mother  is  nigh  !" 

The  stranger  was  very  differently  employed.  The 
instant  the  crash  of  glass  was  heard,  he  rushed  to 
the  rear;  and  he  had  already  grappled  with  the 
savage  so  often  named,  and  who  acted  as  guide  to  a 
dozen  fierce  and  yelling  followers. 

"  To  the  block !"  shouted  the  steady  soldier, 
while  with  a  powerful  arm  he  held  his  enemy  in  the 
throat  of  the  narrow  passage,  stopping  the  approach 
of  those  in  the  rear  by  the  body  of  his  foe.  "  For 
the  love  of  life  and  children,  woman,  to  the  block !" 

The  summons  rang  frightfully  in  the  ears  of  Ruth, 
but  in  that  moment  of  extreme  jeopardy  her  pres 
ence  of  mind  was  lost.  The  cry  was  repeated,  and 
not  till  then  did  the  bewildered  mother  catch  her 
daughter  from  the  floor.  With  eyes  still  bent  on 
the  fierce  struggle  in  her  rear,  she  clasped  the  child 
to  her  heart  and  fled,  calling  on  Whittal  Ring  to  fol 
low.  The  lad  obeyed,  and  ere  she  had  half-crossed 
the  court,  the  stranger,  still  holding  his  savage  shield 
between  him  and  his  enemies,  was  seen  endeavoring 
to  take  the  same  direction.  The  whoops,  the  flight 
of  arrows,  and  the  discharges  of  musquetry,  that 
succeeded,  proclaimed  the  whole  extent  of  the  dan 
ger.  But  fear  had  lent  unnatural  vigor  to  the  limbs 
of  Ruth,  and  the  gliding  arrows  themselves  scarce 
sailed  more  swiftly  through  the  heated  air,  than  she 
darted  into  the  open  door  of  the  block.  Whittal 
Ring  was  less  successful.  As  he  crossed  the  court, 
bearing  the  child  intrusted  to  his  care,  an  arrov? 
pierced  his  flesh.  Stung  by  the  pain,  the  witless 
lad  turned,  in  anger,  to  chide  the  hand  that  had  ir 
flic  ted  the  injury. 

"  On,  foolish  boy  !"  cried  the  stranger,  as  he  pass 
ed  him,  still  making  a  target  of  the  body  of  the  sav 
age  that  was  writhing  in  his  grasp.  "  On,  for  thy 
life,  and  that  of  the  babe !" 


OF   WISH-TOJT-WISH.  213 

The  mandate  came  too  late.  The  hand  of  an 
Indian  was  already  on  the  innocent  victim,  and  in 
the  next  instant  the  child  was  sweeping  the  air, 
while  with  a  short  yell  the  keen  axe  flourished 
above  his  head.  A  shot  from  the  loops  laid  the  mon 
ster  dead  in  his  tracks.  The  girl  was  instantly  seiz 
ed  by  another  hand,  and  as  the  captor  with  his  prize 
darted  unharmed  into  the  dwelling,  there  arose  in 
the  block  a  common  exclamation  of  the  name  of 
"  Miantonimoh !"  Two  more  of  the  savages  profited 
by  the  pause  of  horror  that  followed,  to  lay  hands 
on  the  wounded  Whittal  and  to  drag  him  within  the 
blazing  building.  At  the  same  moment,  the  stranger 
cast  the  unresisting  savage  back  upon  the  weapons 
of  his  companions.  The  bleeding  and  half-strangled 
Indian  met  the  blows  which  had  been  aimed  at 
the  life  of  the  soldier,  and  as  he  staggered  and  fell, 
his  vigorous  conqueror  disappeared  in  the  block. 
The  door  of  the  little  citadel  was  instantly  closed, 
and  the  savages,  who  rushed  headlong  against  the 
entrance,  heard  the  fitting  of  the  bars  which  secured 
it  against  their  attacks.  The  yell  of  retreat  was 
raised,  and  in  the  next  instant  the  court  was  left  to 
the  possession  of  the  dead. 


214  THE    WEPT 


CHAPTER  XV. 

"  Did  Heaven  look  on, 
And  would  not  take  their  part? — 

— :  Heaven  rest  them  now!" 

MACBETH. 

"WE  will  be  thankful  for  this  blessing/'  said  Con 
tent,  as  he  aided  the  half-unconscious  Ruth  to  mount 
the  ladder,  yielding  himself  to  a  feeling  of  nature 
that  said  little  against  his  manhood.  "  If  we  have 
lost  one  that  we  loved,  God  hath  spared  our  own 
child." 

His  breathless  wife  threw  herself  into  a  seat,  and 
folding  the  treasure  to  her  bosom,  she  whispered 
rather  than  said  aloud — "  From  my  soul,  Heathcote, 
am  I  grateful !" 

"  Thou  shieldest  the  babe  from  my  sight,"  return 
ed  the  father,  stooping  to  conceal  a  tear  that  was 
stealing  down  his  brown  cheek,  under  a  pretence  of 
embracing  the  child — but  suddenly  recoiling,  he 
added  in  alarm — "  Ruth  !" 

Startled  by  the  tone  in  which  her  husband  utter 
ed  her  name,  the  mother  threw  aside  the  folds  of 
her  dress,  which  still  concealed  the  girl,  and  stretch 
ing  her  out  to  the  length  of  an  arm,  she  saw  that, 
in  the  hurry  of  the  appalling  scene,  the  children 
had  been  exchanged,  and  that  she  had  saved  the 
life  of  Martha ! 

Notwithstanding  the  generous  disposition  of  Ruth, 
it  was  impossible  to  repress  the  feeling  of  disappoint 
ment  which  came  over  her  with  the  consciousness 
of  the  mistake.  Nature  at  first  had  sway,  and  to  a 
degree  that  was  fearfully  powerful. 

"  It  is  not  our  babe !"  shrieked  the  mother,  still 
holding  the  child  at  the  length  of  her  arm,  and 


Or    WISH-TON -WISH. 

gazing  at  its  innocent  and  terrified  countenance, 
with  an  expression  that  Martha  had  never  yet  seen 
gleaming  from  eyes  that  were,  in  common,  so  soft 
and  so  indulgent. 

"  I  am  thine !  I  am  thine !"  murmured  the  little 
trembler,  struggling  in  vain  to  reach  the  bosom  that 
had  so  long  cherished  her  infancy.  "  If  not  thine, 
whose  am  I  ?" 

The  gaze  of  Ruth  was  still  wild,  the  workings  of 
her  features  hysterical. 

"  Madam — Mrs.  Heathcote — mother !"  came  tim 
idly,  and  at  intervals,  from  the  lips  of  the  orphan. 
Then  the  heart  of  Ruth  relented.  She  clasped  the 
daughter  of  her  friend  to  her  breast,  and  Nature 
found  a  temporary  relief  in  one  of  those  frightful 
exhibitions  of  anguish,  which  appear  to  threaten 
the  dissolution  of  the  link  which  connects  the  soul 
with  the  body. 

"  Come,  daughter  of  John  Harding,"  said  Content, 
looking  around  him  with  the  assumed  composure  of 
a  chastened  man,  while  natural  regret  struggled 
hard  at  his  heart ;  "  this  has  been  God's  pleasure ; 
it  is  meet  that  we  kiss  his  parental  hand.  Let  us  be 
thankful,"  he  added,  with  a  quivering  lip  but  steady 
eye,  "  that  even  this  mercy  hath  been  shown.  Our 
babe  is  with  the  Indian,  but  our  hopes  are  far  beyond 
the  reach  of  savage  malignity.  We  have  not  *  laid 
up  treasure  where  moth  and  rust  can  corrupt,  or 
where  thieves  may  break  in  and  steal.'  It  may  be 
that  the  morning  shall  bring  means  of  parley,  and 
haply,  opportunity  of  ransom." 

There  was  the  glimmering  of  hope  in  this  sugges 
tion.  The  idea  seemed  to  give  a  new  direction  to 
the  thoughts  of  Ruth,  and  the  change  enabled  the 
long  habits  of  self-restraint  to  regain  something  of 
their  former  ascendancy.  The  fountains  of  her  tears 
became  dry,  and,  after  one  short  and  terrible  strug 
gle,  she  was  again  enabled  to  appear  composed.  But 


216  THE    WEPT 

at  no  time  during  the  continuance  of  that  fearful 
struggle,  was  Ruth  Heathcote  again  the  same  ready 
and  useful  agent  of  activity  and  order  that  she  had 
been  in  the  earlier  events  of  the  night. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remind  the  reader  that 
the  brief  burst  of  parental  agony  which  has  just 
been  related,  escaped  Content  and  his  wife  amid  a 
scene  in  which  the  other  actors  were  too  much  oc 
cupied  by  their  exertions  to  note  it's  exhibition.  The 
fate  of  those  in  the  block  was  too  evidently  approach 
ing  its  close,  to  allow  of  any  interest  in  such  an 
episode  to  the  great  tragedy  of  the  moment. 

The  character  of  the  contest  had  in  some  measure 
changed.  There  was  no  longer  any  immediate  ap 
prehension  from  the  missiles  of  the  assailants,  though 
danger  pressed  upon  the  besieged  in  a  new  and  even 
in  a  more  horrible  aspect.  Now  and  then  indeed  an 
arrow  quivered  in  the  openings  of  the  loops,  and 
the  blunt  Dudley  had  once  a  narrow  escape  from 
the  passage  of  a  bullet,  which,  guided  by  chance, 
or  aimed  by  a  hand  surer  than  common,  glanced 
through  one  of  the  narrow  slits,  and  would  have 
terminated  the  history  of  the  borderer,  had  not  the 
head  it  obliquely  encountered,  been  too  solid  to 
yield  even  to  such  an  assault.  The  attention  of  the 
garrison  was  chiefly  called  to  the  imminent  danger 
of  the  surrounding  fire.  Though  the  probability  of 
such  an  emergency  as  that  in  which  the  family  was 
now  placed,  had  certainly  been  foreseen,  and  in 
some  degree  guarded  against,  in  the  size  of  the 
area  and  in  the  construction  of  the  block,  yet  it 
was  found  that  the  danger  exceeded  all  former 
calculations. 

For  the  basement,  there  was  no  reason  to  f&el 
alarm.  It  was  of  stone,  ajid  of  a  thickness  and  a 
material  to  put  at  defiance  any  artifices  that  their 
enemy  might  find  time  to  practise.  Even  the  two 
upper  stories  were  comparatively  safe;  for  they 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  217 

were  composed  cf  blocks  so  solid  as  to  require  time 
to  heat  them,  and  they  were  consequently  as  little 
liable  to  combustion  as  wood  well  could  be.  But 
the  roof,  like  all  of  that,  and  indeed,  like  most  of 
the  present  day  in  America,  was  composed  of  short 
inflammable  shingles  of  pine.  The  superior  height 
of  the  tower  was  some  little  protection,  but  as  the 
flames  rose  roaring  above  the  buildings  of  the  court, 
and  waved  in  wide  circuits  around  the  heated  area, 
the  whole  of  the  fragile  covering  of  the  block  was 
often  wrapped  in  folds  of  fire.  The  result  may  be 
anticipated.  Content  was  first  recalled  from  the 
bitterness  of  his  parental  regret,  by  a  cry,  which 
passed  among  the  family,  that  the  roof  of  their 
little  citadel  was  in  flames.  One  of  the  ordinary 
wells  of  the  habitation  was  in  the  basement  of  the 
edifice,  and  it  was  fortunate  that  no  precaution 
necessary  to  render  it  serviceable  in  an  emergency 
like  that  which  was  now  arrived,  had  been  neglected. 
A  well-secured  shaft  of  stone  rose  through  the  lower 
apartment  into  the  upper  floor.  Profiting  by  this 
happy  precaution,  the  handmaidens  of  Ruth  plied 
the  buckets  with  diligence,  while  the  young  men 
cast  water  freely  on  the  roof,  from  the  windows  of 
the  attic.  The  latter  duty,  it  may  readily  be  sup 
posed,  was  not  performed  without  hazard.  Flights 
of  arrows  were  constantly  directed  against  the  la 
borers,  and  more  than  one  of  the  youths  received 
greater  or  less  injuries,  while  exposed  to  their  an 
noyance.  There  were  indeed  a  few  minutes,  during 
which  it  remained  a  question  of  grave  interest  how 
far  the  risk  they  ran  was  likely  to  be  crowned  with 
success.  The  excessive  heat  of  so  many  fires,  and 
the  occasional  contact  with  the  flames,  as  they 
swept  in  eddies  over  the  place,  began  to  render  it 
doubtful  whether  any  human  efforts  could  long 
arrest  the  evil.  Even  the  massive  ana  moistened 
logs  of  the  body  of  the  work  began  to  smoke ;  and 
19 


218  THE    WEPT 

it  was  found,  by  experiment,  that  the  hand  could 
rest  but  a  moment  on  their  surface. 

During  this  interval  of  deep  suspense,  all  the  men 
posted  at  the  loops  were  called  to  aid  in  extinguish 
ing  the  fire.  Resistance  was  forgotten  in  the  discharge 
of  a  duty  that  had  become  still  more  pressing.  Ruth 
herself  was  aroused  by  the  nature  of  the  alarm, 
and  all  hands  and  all  minds  were  arduously  occu 
pied  in  a  toil  that  diverted  attention  from  incidents 
which  had  less  interest,  because  they  were  teeming 
less  with  instant  destruction.  Danger  is  known  to 
lose  its  terrors  by  familiarity.  The  young  borderers 
became  reckless  of  their  persons  in  the  ardor  of 
exertion,  and  as  success  began  to  crown  their  efforts, 
something  like  the  levity  of  happier  moments  got 
the  better  of  their  concern.  Stolen  and  curious 
glances  were  thrown  around  a  place  that  had  so 
long  been  kept  sacred  to  the  secret  uses  of  the  Pu 
ritan,  when  it  was  found  that  the  flames  were  sub 
dued,  and  that  the  present  danger  was  averted. 
The  light  glared  powerfully  through  several  open 
ings  in  the  shingles,  no  less  than  through  the  win 
dows  ;  and  every  eye  was  enabled  to  scan  the  con 
tents  of  an  apartment  which  all  had  longed,  though 
none  had  ever  before  presumed,  to  enter. 

"The  Captain  looketh  well  to  the  body,"  whis 
pered  Reuben  Ring  to  one  of  his  comrades,  as  he 
wiped  the  effects  of  the  toil  from  a  sun-burnt  brow. 
"Thou  seest,  Hiram,  that  there  is  good  store  of 
cheer." 

"The  buttery  is  not  better  stored!"  returned  the 
other,  with  the  shrewdness  and  ready  observation 
of  a  border-man.  "It  is  known  that  he  never  toufh- 
eth  that  which  the  cow  yields,  except  as  it  comes 
from  the  creature,  and  here  we  find  of  the  best 
that  the  Madam's  dairy  can  yield '" 

**  Surely  yon  buff  jerkin  is  like  to  those  worn  by 


OF  WISH-TON- WISH.  219 

the  idle  cavaliers  at  home !  I  think  it  be  long  since 
the  Captain  hath  ridden  forth  in  such  a  guise." 

"That  may  be  matter  of  ancient  usage,  for  thou 
seest  he  hath  relics  of  the  fashion  of  the  English 
troopers  in  this  bit  of  steel ;  it  is  like,  he  holdeth 
deep  exercise  over  the  vanities  of  his  youth,  while 
recalling  the  times  in  which  they  were  worn/' 

This  conjecture  appeared  to  satisfy  the  other, 
though  it  is  probable  that  a  sight  of  a  fresh  store 
of  bodily  aliment,  which  was  soon  after  exposed  in 
order  to  gain  access  to  the  roof,  might  have  led  to 
some  further  inferences,  had  more  time  been  given 
to  conjectures.  But  at  this  moment  a  new  wail  pro 
ceeded  from  the  maidens  who  plied  the  buckets 
beneath. 

"  To  the  loops !  to  the  loops,  or  we  are  lost !"  was 
a  summons  that  admitted  of  no  delay.  Led  by  the 
stranger,  the  young  men  rushed  below,  where,  in 
truth,  they  found  a  serious  demand  on  all  their 
activity  and  courage. 

The  Indians  were  wanting  in  none  of  the  saga 
city  which  so  remarkably  distinguishes  the  warfare 
of  this  cunning  race.  The  time  spent  by  the  family, 
in  arresting  the  flames,  had  not  been  thrown  away 
by  the  assailants.  Profiting  by  the  attention  of  those 
within,  to  efforts  that  were  literally  of  the  last  im 
portance,  they  had  found  means  to  convey  burning 
brands  to  the  door  of  the  block,  against  which  they 
had  piled  a  mass  of  blazing  combustibles,  that 
threatened  shortly  to  open  the  way  into  the  base 
ment  of  the  citadel  itself.  In  order  to  mask  this 
design,  and  to  protect  their  approaches,  the  savages 
had  succeeded  in  dragging  bundles  of  straw  and 
other  similar  materials  to  the  foot  of  the  work,  to 
which  the  fire  soon  communicated,  and  which  con 
sequently  served  both  to  increase  the  actual  danger 
of  the  building  and  to  distract  the  attention  of  those 
by  whom  it  was  defended.  Although  the  water  that 


220  THE    WEPT 

fell  from  the  roof  served  to  retard  the  progress  of 
these  flames,  it  contributed  to  produce  the  effect  of 
all  others  that  was  most  desired  by  the  savages. 
The  dense  volumes  of  smoke  that  arose  from  the 
half-smothered  fire,  first  apprised  the  females  of 
the  new  danger  which  assailed  them.  When  Con 
tent  and  the  stranger  reached  the  principal  floor 
of  their  citadel,  it  required  some  little  time,  and  no 
small  degree  of  coolness,  to  comprehend  the  situ 
ation  in  which  they  were  now  placed.  The  vapor 
that  rolled  upward  from  the  wet  straw  and  hay 
had  already  penetrated  into  the  apartment,  and  it 
was  with  no  slight  difficulty  that  they  who  occu 
pied  it  were  enabled  to  distinguish  objects,  or  even 
to  breathe. 

"  Here  is  matter  to  exercise  our  utmost  fortitude," 
said  the  stranger  to  his  constant  companion.  "  We 
must  look  to  this  new  device,  or  we  come  to  the  fate 
of  death  by  fire.  Summon  the  stoutest-hearted  of 
thy  youths,  and  I  will  lead  them  to  a  sortie,  ere  the 
evil  get  past  a  remedy." 

"  That  were  certain  victory  to  the  heathen.  Thou 
nearest,  by  their  yells,  that  'tis  no  small  band  of 
scouters  who  beleaguer  us ;  a  tribe  hath  sent  forth 
its  chosen  warriors  to  do  their  wickedness.  Better 
is  it  that  we  bestir  ourselves  to  drive  them  from  our 
door,  and  to  prevent  the  further  annoyance  of  this 
cloud,  since,  to  issue  from  the  block,  at  this  moment, 
would  be  to  offer  our  heads  to  the  tomahawk ;  and 
to  ask  mercy  is  as  vain  as  to  hope  to  move  the  rock 
with  tears." 

"  And  in  what  manner  may  we  do  this  needful 
service  ?" 

*'  Our  muskets  will  still  command  the  entrance, 
by  means  of  these  downward  loops,  and  water  may 
be  yet  applied  through  the  same  openings.  Thought 
hath  been  had  of  this  danger,  in  the  disposition  of 
the  place." 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  221 

"  Then,  of  Heaven's  mercy !  delay  not  the  effort." 

The  necessary  measures  were  taken,  instantly. 
Eben  Dudley  applied  the  muzzle  of  his  piece  to  a 
loop,  and  discharged  it  downward,  in  the  direction 
of  the  endangered  door.  But  aim  was  impossible  in 
the  obscurity,  and  his  want  of  success  was  proclaim 
ed  by  a  taunting  shout  of  triumph.  Then  followed 
a  flood  of  water,  which  however  was  scarcely  of 
more  service,  since  the  savages  had  foreseen  its  use, 
and  had  made  a  provision  against  its  effects  by  plac 
ing  boards,  and  such  vessels  as  they  found  scattered 
among  the  buildings,  above  the  fire,  in  a  manner  to 
prevent  most  of  the  fluid  from  reaching  its  aim. 

"  Come  hither  with  thy  musket,  Reuben  Ring," 
said  Content,  hurriedly;  "the  wind  stirreth  the 
smoke,  here ;  the  savages  still  heap  fuel  against  the 
wall." 

The  borderer  complied.  There  were  in  fact  mo 
ments  when  dark  human  forms  were  to  be  seen 
gliding  in  silence  around  the  building,  though  the 
density  of  the  vapor  rendered  the  forms  indistinct 
and  their  movements  doubtful.  With  a  cool  and 
practised  eye,  the  youth  sought  a  victim ;  but  as  he 
discharged  his  musket,  an  object  glanced  near  his 
own  visage,  as  though  the  bullet  had  recoiled  on  him 
who  had  given  it  a  very  different  mission.  Stepping 
backward  a  little  hurriedly,  he  saw  the  stranger 
pointing  through  the  smoke  at  an  arrow  which  still 
quivered  in  the  floor  above  them. 

"  We  cannot  long  abide  these  assaults,"  the  soldier 
muttered ;  "  something  must  be  speedily  devised,  or 
we  fall." 

His  words  ceased,  for  a  yell  that  appeared  to  lift 
the  floor  on  which  he  stood,  announced  the  destruc 
tion  of  the  door  and  the  presence  of  the  savages  in 
the  basement  of  the  tower.  Both  parties  appeared 
momentarily  confounded  at  this  unexpected  success; 
for  while  the  one  stood  mute  with  astonishment  and 
19* 


222  THE  WEPT 

dread,  the  other  did  litUe  more  than  triumph.  But 
this  inaction  soon  ended.  The  conflict  was  resumed, 
though  the  efforts  of  the  assailants  began  to  assume 
the  confidence  of  victory,  while,  on  the  part  of  the 
besieged,  they  partook  fearfully  of  the  aspect  of 
despair. 

A  few  muskets  were  discharged,  both  from  below 
and  above,  at  the  intermediate  floor,  but  the  thick 
ness  of  the  planks  prevented  the  bullets  from  doing 
injury.  Then  commenced  a  struggle  in  which  the 
respective  qualities  of  the  combatants  were  exhib 
ited  in  a  singularly  characteristic  manner.  While 
the  Indians  improved  their  advantages  beneath,  with 
all  the  arts  known  to  savage  warfare,  the  young 
men  resisted  with  that  wonderful  aptitude  of  expe 
dient,  and  readiness  of  execution,  which  distinguish 
the  American  borderer. 

The  first  attempt  of  the  assailants  was  to  burn 
the  flooi  of  the  lower  apartment.  In  order  to  effect 
this,  they  threw  vast  piles  of  straw  into  the  base 
ment.  But  ere  the  brand  was  applied,  water  had 
reduced  the  inflammable  material  to  a  black  and 
murky  pile.  Still  the  smoke  had  nearly  effected  a 
conquest  which  the  fire  itself  had  failed  to  achieve. 
So  suffocating  indeed  were  the  clouds  of  vapor  which 
ascended  through  the  crevices,  that  the  females 
were  compelled  to  seek  a  refuge  in  the  attic.  Here 
the  openings  in  the  roof,  and  a  swift  current  of  air, 
relieved  them,  in  some  degree,  from  its  annoyance. 

When  it  was  found  that  the  command  of  the  well 
afforded,  the  besieged  the  means  of  protecting  the 
wood-work  of  the  interior,  an  effort  was  made  to  cut 
off  the  communication  with  the  water,  by  forcing  a 
passage  into  the  circular  stone  shaft,  through  which 
it  was  drawn  into  the  room  above.  This  attempt 
was  defeated  by  the  readiness  of  the  youths,  who 
soon  cut  holes  in  the  floor,  whence  they  sent  down 
certain  death  on  all  beneath.  Perhaps  no  part  of 


or  WISH-TON  -WISH.  223 

the  assault  was  more  obstinate  than  that  which  ac 
companied  this  effort;  nor  did  either  assailants  or 
assailed,  at  any  time  during  its  continuance,  suffer 
greater  personal  injury.  After  a  long  and  fierce 
struggle,  the  resistance  was  effectual,  and  the  sav 
ages  had  recourse  to  new  schemes  in  order  to  effect 
their  ruthless  object. 

During  the  first  moments  of  their  entrance,  and 
with  a  view  to  reap  the  fruits  of  the  victory  when 
the  garrison  should  be  more  effectually  subdued, 
most  of  the  furniture  of  the  dwelling  had  been  scat 
tered  by  the  conquerors  on  the  side  of  the  hill. 
Among  other  articles,  some  six  or  seven  beds  had 
been  dragged  from  the  dormitories.  These  were 
now  brought  into  play,  as  powerful  instruments  in 
the  assault.  They  were  cast,  one  by  one,  on  the 
still  burning  though  smothered  flames,  in  the  base 
ment  of  the  block,  whence  they  sent  up  a  cloud  of 
their  intolerable  effluvia.  At  this  trying  moment, 
the  appalling  cry  was  heard  in  the  block,  that  the 
well  had  failed!  The  buckets  ascended  as  empty 
as  they  went  down,  and  they  were  thrown  aside  as 
no  longer  usefuL  The  savages  seemed  to  compre 
hend  their  advantage,  for  they  profited  by  the  con 
fusion  that  succeeded  among  the  assailed,  to  feed 
the  slumbering  iires.  The  Cannes  kindled  fiercely, 
and  in  less  than  a  minute  they  became  too  violent 
to  be  subdued.  They  were  soon  seen  playing  on 
the  planks  of  the  floor  above.  The  subtle  element 
flashed  from  point  to  point,  and  it  was  not  long  ere 
it  was  stealing  up  the  outer  side  of  the  heated  block 
atsel£ 

The  savages  now  knew  that  conquest  was  sure. 
Yells  and  whoopings  proclaimed  the  fierce  delight 
with  which  they  witnessed  the  certainty  of  their 
victory.  Still  there  was  something  portentous  in 
the  death-like  silence  with  which  the  victims  within 
the  block  awaited  their  fate.  The  whole  exterior 


224  THE    WEPT 

of  the  building  was  already  wrapped  in  flames,  and 
yet  no  show  of  further  resistance,  no  petition  for 
mercy,  issued  from  its  besom.  The  unnatural  and 
frightful  stillness,  that  reigned  within,  was  gradually 
communicated  to  those  without  The  cries  and 
shouts  of  triumph  ceased,  and  the  crackling  of 
the  flames,  or  the  falling  of  timber  in  fhe  adjoining 
buildings,  alone  disturbed  the  awful  calm.  At  length 
a  solitary  voice  was  heard  in  the  block.  Its  tones 
were  deep,  solemn,  and  imploring.  The  fierce  be 
ings  who  surrounded  the  glowing  pile  bent  forward 
to  listen,  for  their  e^uick  faculties  caught  the  first 
sounds  that  were  audible.  It  was  Mark  Heathcote 
pouring  out  his  spirit  in  prayer.  The  petition  was 
fervent,  but  steady r  and  though  uttered  in  words 
that  were  unintelligible  to  those  without,  they  knew 
enough  of  the  practices  of  the  Colonists,  to  be 
aware  that  it  was  the  chief  of  the  Pale-faces  hold 
ing  communion  with  his  God.  Partly  in  awe,  and 
partly  in  doubt  of  what  might  be  the  consequences 
of  so  mysterious  an  asking,  the  dark  crowd  with 
drew  to  a  little  distance,  and  silently  watched  the 
progress  of  the  destruction.  They  had  heard  strange 
sayings  of  the  power  of  the  Deity  of  their  invaders> 
and  as  their  victims  appeared  suddenly  to  cease 
using  any  of  the  known  means  of  safety,  they  ap 
peared  to  expect,  perhaps  they  did  expect,  some 
unequivocal  manifestation  of  the  power  of  the 
Great  Spirit  of  the  stranger. 

Still  no  sign  of  pity,  no  relenting  from  the  ruth 
less  barbarity  of  their  warfare,  escaped  any  of  the 
assailants.  If  they  thought  at  all  of  the  temporal 
fate  of  those  who  might  still  exist  within  the  fiery 
pile,  it  was  only  to  indulge  in  some  passing  regret, 
that  the  obstinacy  of  the  defence  had  deprived  them 
of  the  glory  of  bearing  the  usual  bloody  tokens  of 
victory,  in  triumph  to  their  villages.  But  even 
these  peculiar  and  deeply-rooted  feelings  were  for- 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  225 

gotten,  as  the  progress  of  the  flames  placed  the 
hope  of  its  indulgence  beyond  all  possibility. 

The  roof  of  the  block  rekindled,  and,  by  the  light 
that  shone  through  the  loops,  it  was  but  too  evident 
the  interior  was  in  a  blaze.  Once  or  twice,  smoth 
ered  sounds  came  out  of  the  place,  as  if  suppressed 
shrieks  were  escaping  the  females ;  but  they  ceased 
so  suddenly  as  to  leave  doubts  among  the  auditors, 
whether  it  were  more  than  the  deception  of  their 
own  excited  fancies.  The  savages  had  witnessed 
many  a  similar  scene  of  human  suffering,  but  never 
one  before  in  which  death  was  met  by  so  unmoved 
a  calmness.  The  serenity  that  reigned  in  the  blaz 
ing  block  communicated  to  them  a  feeling  of  awe ; 
and  when  the  pile  came  a  tumbling  and  blackened 
mass  of  ruins  to  the  earth,  they  avoided  the  place, 
like  men  that  dreaded  the  vengeance  of  a  Deity 
who  knew  how  to  infuse  so  deep  a  sentiment  of  re 
signation  in  the  breasts  of  his  worshippers. 

Though  the  yells  of  victory  were  again  heard  in 
the  valley  that  night,  and  though  the  sun  had  arisen 
before  the  conquerors  deserted  the  hill,  but  few  of 
the  band  found  resolution  to  approach  the  smoul 
dering  pile,  where  they  had  witnessed  so  impressive 
an  exhibition  of  Christian  fortitude.  The  few  that 
did  draw  near,  stood  around  the  spot  rather  in  the 
reverence  with  which  an  Indian  visits  the  graves 
of  the  just,  than  in  the  fierce  rejoicings  with  which 
he  is  known  to  glut  his  revenge  over  a  fallen  cnerny 


226  THE    WEPT 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


"What  are  these, 

So  withered,  and  so  wild  in  their  attire; 
That  look  not  like  the  inhabitants  of  earth, 
And  yet  areon't?" 

MACBETH. 


THAT  sternness  of  the  season,  which  has  already 
been  mentioned  in  these  pages,  is  never  of  long 
continuance  in  the  month  of  April.  A  change  in 
the  wind  had  been  noted  by  the  hunters,  even  be 
fore  they  retired  from  their  range  among  the  hills ; 
and  though  too  seriously  occupied  to  pay  close  at 
tention  to  the  progress  of  the  thaw,  more  than  one 
of  the  young  men  had  found  occasion  to  remark, 
that  the  final  breaking  up  of  the  winter  had  arrived. 
Long  ere  the  scene  of  the  preceding  chapter  reach 
ed  its  height,  the  southern  winds  had  mingled  with 
the  heat  of  the  conflagration.  Warm  airs,  that  had 
been  following  the  course  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  were 
driven  to  the  land,  and,  sweeping  over  the  narrow 
island  that  at  this  point  forms  the  advanced  work 
of  the  continent,  but  a  few  short  hours  had  passed 
before  they  destroyed  every  chilling  remnant  of  the 
dominion  of  winter.  Warm,  bland,  and  rushing  in 
torrents,  the  subtle  currents  penetrated  the  forests, 
melted  the  snows  from  the  fields,  and  as  all  alike 
felt  the  genial  influence,  it  appeared  to  bestow  a 
renovated  existence  on  man  and  beast.  With  morn 
ing,  therefore,  a  landscape  very  different  from  that 
last  placed  before  the  mind  of  the  reader,  present 
ed  itself  in  the  valley  of  the  Wish-Ton-Wish. 

The  winter  had  entirely  disappeared,  and  as  the 
buds  had  begun  to  swell  under  the  occasional  warmth 


OF  wisn-TON-wi$H.  227 

of  the  spring,  one  ignorant  of  the  past  would  not 
have  supposed  that  the  advance  of  the  season  had 
been  subject  to  so  stern  an  interruption.  But  the 
principal  and  most  melancholy  change  was  in  the 
more  artificial  parts  of  the  view.  Instead  of  those 
simple  and  happy  habitations  which  had  crowned 
the  little  eminence,  there  remained  only  a  mass  of 
blackened  and  charred  ruins,  A  few  abused  and 
half-destroyed  articles  of  household  furniture  lay 
scattered  on  the  sides  of  the  hill,  and,  here  and 
there,  a  dozen  palisadoes,  favored  by  some  acci 
dental  cause,  had  partially  escaped  the  flames. 
Eight  or  ten  massive  and  dreary-looking  stacks  of 
chimneys  rose  out  of  the  smoking  piles.  In  the  cen 
tre  of  the  desolation  was  the  stone  basement  of  the 
block-house,  on  which  still  stood  a  few  gloomy  masses 
of  the  timber,  resembling  coal.  The  naked  and  un 
supported  shaft  of  the  well  reared  its  circular  pil 
lar  from  the  centre,  looking  like  a  dark  monument 
of  the  past  The  wide  ruin  of  the  out-buildings 
blackened  one  side  of  the  clearing,  and,  in  different 
places,  the  fences,  like  radii  diverging  from  the  com 
mon  centre  of  destruction,  had  led  off  the  flames 
into  the  fields.  A  few  domestic  animals  ruminated  in 
the  back-ground,  and  even  the  feathered  inhabit 
ants  of  the  barns  still  kept  aloof,  as  if  warned  by 
their  instinct  that  danger  lurked  around  the  site  of 
their  ancient  abodes.  In  all  other  respects,  the  view 
was  calm,  and  lovely  as  ever.  The  sun  shone  from 
a  sky  in  which  no  cloud  was  visible.  The  blandness 
of  the  winds,  and  the  brightness  of  the  heavens, 
lent  an  air  of  animation  to  even  the  leafless  forest; 
and  the  white  vapor,  that  continued  to  rise  from  the 
smouldering  piles,  floated  high  over  the  hills,  as  the 
peaceful  smoke  of  the  cottage  curled  above  its  roof. 
The  ruthless  band  which  had  occasioned  this  sud 
den  change  was  already  far  on  the  way  to  its  vil 
lages,  or,  haply,  it  sought  some  other  scene  of  blood. 


228  THE  WEPT 

A  skilful  eye  might  have  traced  the  route  these 
fierce  creatures  of  the  woods  had  taken,  by  fences 
hurled  from  their  places,  or  by  the  carcass  of  some 
animal  that  had  fallen,  in  the  wantonness  of  victory, 
beneath  a  parting  blow.  Of  all  these  wild  beings, 
one  only  remained ;  and  he  appeared  to  linger  at 
the  spot  in  the  indulgence  of  feelings  that  were  for 
eign  to  those  passions  that  had  so  recently  stirred 
the  bosoms  of  his  comrades. 

It  was  with  a  slow,  noiseless  step  that  the  solitary 
loiterer  moved  about  the  scene  of  destruction.  He 
was  first  seen  treading,  with  a  thoughtful  air,  among 
the  ruins  of  the  buildings  that  had  formed  the  quad 
rangle,  and  then,  seemingly  led  by  an  interest  in  the 
fate  of  those  who  had  so  miserably  perished,  he 
drew  nearer  to  the  pile  in  its  centre.  The  nicest 
and  most  attentive  ear  could  not  have  detected  the 
fall  of  his  foot,  as  the  Indian  placed  it  within  the 
gloomy  circle  of  the  ruined  wall ;  nor  is  the  breath 
ing  of  the  infant  less  audible,  than  the  manner  in 
which  he  drew  breath,  while  standing  in  a  place  so 
lately  consecrated  by  the  agony  and  martyrdom  of 
a  Christian  family.  It  was  the  boy  called  Mianto- 
nimoh,  seeking  some  melancholy  memorial  of  those 
with  whom  he  had  so  long  dwelt  in  amity,  if  not  in 
confidence. 

One  skilled  in  the  history  of  savage  passions  might 
have  found  a  clue  to  the  workings  of  the  mind  of 
the  youth,  in  the  play  of  his  speaking  features.  As 
his  dark  glittering  eye  rolled  over  the  smouldering 
fragments,  it  seemed  to  search  keenly  for  some  ves 
tige  of  the  human  form.  The  element  however  had 
done  its  work  too  greedily,  to  have  left  many  visible 
memorials  of  its  fury.  An  object  resembling  thaf 
he  sought,  however,  caught  his  glance,  and  stepping 
lightly  to  the  spot  where  it  lay,  he  raised  the  bone 
of  a  powerful  arm  from  the  brands.  The  flashing 
of  his  eye,^as  it  lighted  on  this  sad  object,  was  wild 


OF  WiSH-TON-WlSH.  220 

ami  txulting,  like  thai  of  the  savage  when  he  first 
feels  the  fierce  joy  of  glutted  vengeance;  but  gentler 
recollections  came  with  the  gaze,  and  kinder  feel 
ings  evidently  usurped  the  place  of  the  hatred  he 
had  been  taught  to  bear  a  race,  who  were  so  fast 
swe.eping  his  people  from  the  earth.  The  relic  fell 
from  his  hand,  and  had  Ruth  been  there  to  witness 
the  melancholy  and  relenting  shade  that  clouded  his 
swarthy  features,  she  might  have  found  pleasure  in 
the  certainty  that  all  her  kindness  had  not  been 
wasted. 

Regret  soon  gave  place  to  awe.  To  the  imagina 
tion  of  the  Indian,  it  seemed  as  if  a  still  voice,  like 
that  which  is  believed  to  issue  from  the  grave,  was 
heard  in  the  place.  Bending  his  body  forward,  he 
listened  with  the  intensity  and  acuteness  of  a  sav 
age.  He  thought  the  smothered  tones  of  Mark 
Heathcote  were  again  audible,  holding  communion 
with  his  God.  The  chisel  of  the  Grecian  would  have 
loved  to  delineate  the  attitudes  and  movements  of 
the  wondering  boy,  as  he  slowly  and  reverently 
withdrew  from  the  spot.  His  look  was  riveted  on 
the  vacancy  where  the  upper  apartments  of  the 
block  had  stood,  and  where  he  had  last  seen  the 
family,  calling,  in  their  extremity,  on  their  Deity 
for  aid.  Imagination  still  painted  the  victims,  in 
their  burning  pile.  For  a  minute  longer,  during 
which  brief  space  the  young  Indian  probably  ex 
pected  to  see  some  vision  of  the  Pale-faces,  did  he 
linger  near ;  and  then,  with  a  musing  air  and  soften 
ed  mind,  he  trod  lightly  along  the  path  which  led 
on  the  trail  of  his  people.  When  his  active  form 
reached  the  boundary  of  the  forest,  he  again  paused, 
and  taking  a  final  gaze  at  the  place  where  fortune 
had  made  him  a  witness  to  so  much  domestic  peace 
and  of  so  much  sudden  misery,  his  form  was  quickly 
swallowed  in  the  gloom  of  his  native  woods. 
20 


230  THE   WEPT 

The  work  of  the  savages  now  seemed  complete. 
An  effectual  check  appeared  to  be  placed  to  the 
further  progress  of  civilization  in  the  ill-fated  valley 
of  the  Wish-Ton-wish.  Had  nature  been  left  to  its 
own  work,  a  few  years  would  have  covered  the 
deserted  clearing  with  its  ancient  vegetation ;  and 
half  a  century  would  have  again  buried  the  whole 
of  its  quiet  glades,  in  the  shadows  of  the  forest. 
But  it  was  otherwise  decreed. 

The  sun  had  reached  the  meridian,  and  the  hostile 
band  had  been  gone  some  hours,  before  aught  oc 
curred  likely  to  affect  this  seeming  decision  of  Prov 
idence.  To  one  acquainted  with  the  recent  horrors, 
the  breathing  of  the  airs  over  the  ruins  might  have 
passed  for  the  whisperings  of  departed  spirits.  In 
short,  it  appeared  as  if  the  silence  of  the  wilderness 
had  once  more  resumed  its  reign,  when  it  was  sud 
denly  though  slightly  interrupted.  A  movement  was 
made  within  the  ruins  of  the  block.  It  sounded  as 
if  billets  of  wood  were  gradually  and  cautiously 
displaced,  and  then  a  human  head  was  reared  slow 
ly,  and  with  marked  suspicion,  above  the  shaft  of 
the  well.  The  wild  and  unearthly  air  of  this  seeming 
spectre,  was  in  keeping  with  the  rest  of  the  scene. 
A  face  begrimed  with  smoke  and  stained  with  blood, 
a  head  bound  in  some  fragment  of  a  soiled  dress, 
and  eyes  that  were  glaring  in  a  species  of  dull 
horror,  were  objects  in  unison  with  all  the  other 
frightful  accessories  of  the  place. 

"  What  seest  thou  ?"  demanded  a  deep  voice  from 
within  the  walls  of  the  shaft.  "  Shall  we  again 
come  to  our  weapons,  or  have  the  agents  of  Moloch 
departed  ?  Speak,  entranced  youth !  what  dost  be 
hold?" 

"  A  sight  to  make  a  wolf  weep !"  returned  Eben 
Dudley,  raising  his  large  frame  so  as  to  stand  erect 
on  the  shaft,  where  he  commanded  a  bird's-eye  view 
of  most  of  the  desolation  of  the  valley.  "  Evil  though 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  231 

it  be,  we  may  not  say  that  forewarning  signs  have 
been  withheld.  But  what  is  the  cunningest  man, 
when  mortal  wisdom  is  weighed  in  the  scale  against 
the  craft  of  devils  ?  Come  forth !  Belial  hath  done 
his  worst,  and  we  have  a  breathing-time." 

The  sounds,  which  issued  still  deeper  from  the 
well,  denoted  the  satisfaction  with  which  this  in 
telligence  was  received,  no  less  than  the  alacrity 
with  which  the  summons  of  the  borderer  was  obey 
ed.  Sundry  blocks  of  wood  and  short  pieces  of  plank 
were  first  passed,  with  care,  up  to  the  hands  of 
Dudley,  who  cast  them,  like  useless  lumber,  among 
the  other  ruins  of  the  building.  He  then  descended 
from  his  perch,  and  made  room  for  others  to  follow. 

The  stranger  next  arose.  After  him  came  Content, 
the  Puritan,  Reuben  Ring,  and,  in  short,  all  the 
youths,  with  the  exception  of  those  who  had  un 
happily  fallen  in  the  contest.  After  these  had 
mounted,  and  each  in  turn  had  leaped  to  the  ground. 
a  very  brief  preparation  served  for  the  liberation 
of  the  more  feeble  of  body.  The  readiness  of  border 
skill  soon  sufficed  to  arrange  the  necessary  means. 
By  the  aid  of  chains  and  buckets,  Ruth  and  the  little 
Martha,  Faith  and  all  of  the  handmaidens,  without 
even  one  exception,  were  successively  drawn  from 
the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and  restored  to  the  light 
of  day.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  to  those 
whom  experience  has  best  fitted  to  judge  of  such  an 
achievement,  that  no  great  time  or  labor  was  neces 
sary  for  its  accomplishment. 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  harass  the  feelings  of 
the  reader,  further  than  is  required  by  a  simple 
narrative  of  the  incidents  of  the  legend.  We  shall 
therefore  say  nothing  of  the  bodily  pain,  or  of  the 
mental  alarm,  by  which  this  ingenious  retreat  from 
the  flames  and  the  tomahawk  had  been  effected. 
The  suffering  was  chiefly  confined  to  apprehension; 
for  as  the  descent  was  easy,  so  had  the  readiness 


232 


THE    WEPT 


and  ingenuity  of  the  young  men  found  means,  by 
the  aid  of  articles  of  furniture  first  cast  into  the 
shaft,  and  by  well-secured  fragments  of  the  floors 
properly  placed  across,  both  to  render  the  situation 
of  the  females  and  children  less  painful  than  might 
at  first  be  supposed,  and  effectually  to  protect  them 
from  the  tumbling  block.  But  little  of  the  latter, 
however,  was  likely  to  affect  their  safety,  as  the 
form  of  the  building  was,  in  itself,  a  sufficient  se 
curity  against  the  fall  of  its  heavier  parts. 

The  meeting  of  the  family,  amid  the  desolation 
of  the  valley,  though  relieved  by  the  consciousness 
of  having  escaped  a  more  shocking  fate,  may  easily 
be  imagined.  The  first  act  was  to  render  brief  but 
solemn  thanks  for  their  deliverance,  and  then,  with 
the  promptitude  of  people  trained  in  hardship,  their 
attention  was  given  to  those  measures  which  pru 
dence  told  them  were  yet  necessary. 

A  few  of  the  more  active  and  experienced  of  the 
youths  were  dispatched,  in  order  to  ascertain  the 
direction  taken  by  the  Indians,  and  to  gain  what 
intelligence  they  might  concerning  their  future 
movements.  The  maidens  hastened  to  collect  the 
kine,  while  others  searched,  with  heavy  hearts, 
among  the  ruins,  in  quest  of  such  articles  of  food 
and  comfort  as  could  be  found,  in  order  to  administer 
to  the  first  wants  of  nature. 

Two  hours  had  effected  most  of  that  which  could 
immediately  be  done,  in  these  several  pursuits.  The 
young  men  returned  with  the  assurance  that  the 
trails  announced  the  certain  and  final  retreat  of 
the  savages.  The  cows  had  yielded  their  tribute, 
and  such  provision  had  been  made  against  hunger 
as  circumstances  would  allow.  The  arms  had  been 
examined,  and  put,  as  far  as  the  injuries  they  had 
received  would  admit,  in  readiness  for  instant  service. 
A  few  hasty  preparations  had  been  made,  in  order 
to  protect  the  females  against  the  cool  airs  of  the 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  233 

coming  night ;  and,  in  short,  all  was  done  that  the 
intelligence  of  a  horder-man  could  suggest,  or  his 
exceeding  readiness  in  expedients  could  in  so  brief 
a  space  supply. 

The  sun  began  to  fall  towards  the  tops  of  the 
beeches  that  crowned  the  western  outline  of  the 
view,  before  all  these  necessary  arrangements  were 
ended.  It  was  not  till  then,  however,  that  Reuben 
Ring,  accompanied  by  another  youth  of  equal  ac 
tivity  and  courage,  appeared  before  the  Puritan, 
equipped,  as  well  as  men  in  their  situation  might 
be,  for  a  journey  through  the  forest. 

"Go,"  said  the  old  religionist,  when  the  youths 
presented  themselves  before  him ;  "  Go ;  carry  forth 
the  tidings  of  this  visitation,  that  men  come  to  our 
succor.  I  ask  not  vengeance  on  the  deluded  and 
heathenish  imitators  of  the  worshippers  of  Moloch. 
They  have  ignorantly  done  this  evil.  Let  no  man 
arm  in  behalf  of  the  wrongs  of  one  sinful  and  erring. 
Rather  let  them  look  into  the  secret  abominations 
of  their  own  hearts,  in  order  that  they  crush  the 
living  worm,  which,  by  gnawing  on  the  seeds  of  a 
healthful  hope,  may  yet  destroy  the  fruits  of  the 
promise  in  their  own  souls.  I  would  that  there  be 
profit  in  this  example  of  divine  displeasure.  Go; 
make  the  circuit  of  the  settlements  for  some  fifty 
miles,  and  bid  such  of  the  neighbors  as  may  be 
spared,  come  to  our  aid.  They  shall  be  welcome ; 
and  may  it  be  long  ere  any  of  them  send  invitation 
to  me  or  mine,  to  enter  their  clearings  on  the  like 
melancholy  duty.  Depart,  and  bear  in  mind,  that 
you  are  messengers  of  peace;  that  your  errand 
toucheth  not  the  feelings  of  vengeance,  but  that  it 
is  succor,  in  all  fitting  reason,  and  no  arming  of  the 
hand  to  chase  the  savage  to  his  retreats,  that  I  ask 
of  the  brethren." 

With  this  final  admonition,  the  young  men  took 
their  leaves.  Still  it  was  evident,  by  their  frowning 
20* 


234  THE  WEPT 

brows  and  compressed  lips,  that  some  part  of  its 
forgiving  principle  might  be  forgotten,  should  chance, 
in  their  journey,  bring  them  on  the  trail  of  any 
wandering  inhabitant  of  the  forest.  In  a  few  min 
utes,  they  were  seen  passing,  with  swift  steps,  from 
the  fields  into  the  depths  of  the  forest,  along  that 
path  which  led  to  the  towns  that  lay  lower  on  the 
Connecticut. 

Another  task  still  remained  to  be  performed.  In 
making  the  temporary  arrangements  for  the  sheltei 
of  the  family,  attention  had  been  first  paid  to  the 
block-house.  The  walls  of  the  basement  of  this 
building  were  still  standing,  and  it  was  found  easy, 
by  means  of  half-burnt  timbers,  with  an  occasional 
board  that  had  escaped  the  conflagration,  to  cover 
it,  in  a  manner  that  offered  a  temporary  protection 
against  the  weather.  This  simple  and  hasty  con 
struction,  with  an  extremely  inartificial  office  erect 
ed  around  the  stack  of  a  chimney,  embraced  nearly 
all  that  could  be  done,  until  time  and  assistance 
should  enable  them  to  commence  other  dwellings. 
In  clearing  the  ruins  of  the  little  tower  of  its  rub 
bish,  the  remains  of  those  who  had  perished  in  the 
fray  were  piously  collected.  The  body  of  the  youth 
who  had  died  in  the  earlier  hours  of  the  attack, 
was  fourd,  but  half-consumed,  in  the  court,  and 
the  bones  of  two  more,  who  fell  within  the  block, 
were  collected  from  among  the  ruins.  It  had  now 
become  a  melancholy  duty  to  consign  them  all  to 
the  earth,  with  decent  solemnity. 

The  time  selected  for  this  sad  office  was  just  as 
the  western  horizon  began  to  glow  with  that  which 
one  of  our  own  poets  has  so  beautifully  termed, 
"the  pomp  that  brings  and  shuts  the  day."  The  sun 
was  in  the  tree-tops,  and  a  softer  or  sweeter  light 
could  not  have  been  chosen  for  such  a  ceremony. 
Most  of  the  fields  still  lay  in  the  soft  brightness  of 
the  hour,  though  the  forest  was  rapidly  getting  the 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  235 

more  obscure  look  of  night.  A  broad  and  gloomy 
margin  was  spreading  from  the  boundary  of  the 
woods,  and,  here  and  there,  a  solitary  tree  cast  its 
shadow  on  the  meadows  without  its  limits,  throw 
ing  a  dark  ragged  line,  in  bold  relief,  on  the  glow 
of  the  sun's  rays.  One,  it  was  the  dusky  image  of  a 
high  and  waving  pine,  that  reared  its  dark  green 
pyramid  of  never-fading  foliage  nearly  a  hundred 
feet  above  the  humbler  growth  of  beeches,  cast  its 
shade  to  the  side  of  the  eminence  of  the  block. 
Here  the  pointed  extremity  of  the  shadow  was  seen, 
stealing  slowly  towards  the  open  grave, — an  em 
blem  of  that  oblivion  in  which  its  humble  tenants 
were  so  shortly  to  be  wrapped. 

At  this  spot,  Mark  Heathcote  and  his  remaining 
companions  had  assembled.  An  oaken  chair,  saved 
from  the  flames,  was  the  seat  of  the  father ;  and 
two  parallel  bencnes,  formed  of  planks  placed  on 
stones,  held  the  other  members  of  the  family.  The 
grave  lay  between.  The  patriarch  had  taken  his 
station  at  one  of  its  ends;  while  the  stranger,  so 
often  named  in  these  pages,  stood  with  folded  arms 
and  a  thoughtful  brow  at  the  other.  The  bridle  of 
a  horse,  caparisoned  in  that  imperfect  manner  which 
the  straitened  means  of  the  borderers  now  rendered 
necessary,  was  hanging  from  one  of  the  half-burnt 
palisadoes,  in  the  back-ground. 

"  A  just,  but  a  merciful  hand  hath  been  laid  heav 
ily  on  my  household ;"  commenced  the  old  Puritan, 
with  the  calmness  of  one  who  had  long  been  accus 
tomed  to  chasten  his  regrets  by  humility.  "He 
that  hath  given  freely,  hath  taken  away ;  and  one, 
that  hath  long  smiled  upon  my  weakness,  hath  now 
veiled  his  face  in  anger.  I  have  known  him  in  hvs 
power  to  bless ;  it  was  meet  that  T  should  see  him 
in  his  displeasure.  A  heart  that  was  waxing  confi 
dent  would  have  hardened  in  its  pride.  At  that 
which  hath  befallen,  let  no  man  murmur.  Let  none 


236  THE   WEPT 

imitate  the  speech  of  her  who  spoke  foolishly: '  What! 
shall  we  receive  good  at  the  hand  of  God,  and  shall 
we  not  receive  evil  ?'  I  would  that  the  feeble-mind 
ed  of  the  world,  they  that  jeopard  the  soul  on  van 
ities,  they  that  look  with  scorn  on  the  neediness  of 
the  flesh,  might  behold  the  riches  of  one  stedfast. 
I  would  that  they  might  know  the  consolation  of 
the  righteous!  Let  the  voice  of  thanksgiving  be 
heard  in  the  wilderness.  Open  thy  mouths  in  praise, 
that  the  gratitude  of  a  penitent  be  not  hid!" 

As  the  deep  tones  of  the  speaker  ceased,  his  stern 
eye  fell  upon  the  features  of  the  nearest  youth, 
and  it  seemed  to  demand  an  audible  response  to  his 
own  lofty  expression  of  resignation.  But  the  sa 
crifice  exceeded  the  power  of  the  individual  to 
whom  had  been  made  this  silent,  but  intelligible, 
appeal.  After  regarding  the  relics  that  lay  at  his 
feet,  casting  a  wandering  glance  at  the  desolation 
which  had  swept  over  a  place  his  own  hand  had 
helped  to  decorate,  and  receiving  a  renewed  con- 
sciousness  of  his  own  bodily  suffering  in  the  shooting 
pain  of  his  wounds,  the  young  borderer  averted  his 
look,  and  seemed  to  recoil  from  so  officious  a  display 
of  submission.  Observing  his  inability  to  reply, 
Mark  continued. — 

"  Hath  no  one  a  voice  to  praise  the  Lord  ?  The 
bands  of  the  heathen  have  fallen  upon  my  herds  ; 
the  brand  hath  been  kindled  within  my  dwellings ; 
my  people  have  died  by  the  violence  of  the  unen 
lightened,  and  none  are  here  to  say  that  the  Lord 
is  just !  I  would  that  the  shouts  of  thanksgiving 
should  arise  in  my  fields !  I  would  that  the  song  of 
praise  should  grow  louder  than  the  whoop  of  the 
savage,  and  that  all  the  land  might  speak  joyful- 
ness  !" 

A  long,  deep,  and  expecting  pause  succeeded. 
Then  Content  rejoined,  in  his  quiet  tones,  speaking 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  237 

firmly,  but  with  the  modest  utterance  he  rarely 
failed  to  use — 

"  The  hand  that  hath  held  the  balance  is  just," 
he  said,  "  and  we  have  been  found  wanting.  He 
that  made  the  wilderness  blossom  hath  caused  the 
ignorant  and  the  barbarous  to  be  the  instruments  of 
his  will.  He  hath  arrested  the  season  of  our  pros 
perity,  that  we  may  know  he  is  the  Lord.  He  hath 
spoken  in  the  whirlwind,  but  his  mercy  granteth 
that  our  ears  shall  know  his  voice." 

As  his  son  ceased,  a  gleam  of  satisfaction  shot 
across  the  countenance  of  the  Puritan.  His  eye 
next  turned  inquiringly  towards  Ruth,  who  sate 
among  her  maidens  the  image  of  womanly  sorrow. 
Common  interest  seemed  to  still  the  breathing  of 
the  little  assembly,  and  sympathy  was  quite  as  active 
as  curiosity,  when  each  one  present  suffered  a  glance 
to  steal  towards  her  benignant  but  pallid  face.  The 
eye  of  the  mother  was  gazing  earnestly,  but  with 
out  a  tear,  on  the  melancholy  spectacle  before  her. 
It  unconsciously  sought,  among  the  dried  and  shriv 
elled  remnants  of  mortality  that  lay  at  her  feet, 
some  relic  of  the  cherub  she  had  lost.  A  shudder 
and  struggle  followed,  after  which  her  gentle  voice 
breathed  so  low  that  those  nearest  her  person  could 
scarce  distinguish  the  words — 

"  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away ; 
blessed  be  his  holy  name !" 

"  Now  know  I  that  he  who  hath  smote  me  is  mer 
ciful,  for  he  chasteneth  them  he  loveth,"  said  Mark 
Heathcote,  rising  with  dignity  to  address  his  house 
hold.  "  Our  life  is  a  life  of  pride.  The  young  are 
wont  to  wax  insolent,  while  he  of  many  years  saith 
to  his  own  heart,  *  it  is  good  to  be  here/  There  is  a 
fearful  mystery  in  one  who  sitteth  on  high.  The 
heavens  are  his  throne,  and  he  hath  created  the 
earth  for  his  footstool.  Let  not  the  vanity  of  the 
weak  of  mind  presume  to  understand  it,  for  '  who 


238  THE    WEPT 

that  hath  the  breath  of  life,  lived  before  the  hills?' 
The  bonds  of  the  evil  one,  of  Satan,  and  of  the  sons 
of  Belial,  have  been  loosened,  that  the  faith  of  the 
elect  may  be  purified,  that  the  names  of  those  writ 
ten,  since  the  foundations  of  the  earth  were  laid, 
may  be  read  in  letters  of  pure  gold.  The  time  of 
man  is  but  a  moment  in  the  reckoning  of  him  whose 
life  is  eternity ;  earth  the  habitation  of  a  season ! 
The  bones  of  the  bold,  of  the  youthful,  and  of  the 
strong  of  yesterday,  lie  at  our  feet.  None  know 
what  an  hour  may  bring  forth.  In  a  single  night, 
my  children,  hath  this  been  done.  They  whose 
voices  were  heard  in  my  halls  are  now  speechless, 
and  they  who  so  lately  rejoiced  are  sorrowing.  Yet 
hath  this  seeming  evil  been  ordered  that  good  may 
come  thereof.  We  are  dwellers  in  a  wild  and  dis 
tant  land,"  he  continued,  insensibly  permitting  his 
thoughts  to  incline  towards  the  more  mournful 
details  of  their  affliction ;  "  our  earthly  home  is  afar 
off.  Hither  have  we  been  led  by  the  flaming  pillar 
of  truth,  and  yet  the  malice  of  the  persecutes  hath 
not  forgotten  to  follow.  One  houseless,  and  sought 
like  the  hunted  deer,  is  again  driven  to  flee.  We 
have  the  canopy  of  the  stars  for  a  roof;  none  may 
tarry  longer  to  worship,  secretly,  within  our  walls. 
But  the  path  of  the  faithful,  though  full  of  thorns, 
leadeth  to  quiet,  and  the  final  rest  of  the  just  man 
can  never  know  alarm.  He  that  hath  borne  hunger, 
and  thirst,  and  the  pains  of  the  flesh,  for  the  sake 
of  truth,  knoweth  how  to  be  satisfied ;  nor  will  the 
hours  of  bodily  suffering  be  accounted  weary  to  him 
whose  goal  is  the  peace  of  the  righteous."  The 
strong  lineaments  of  the  stranger  grew  even  more 
than  usually  austere,  and  as  the  Puritan  continued, 
the  hand  which  rested  on  the  handle  of  a  pistol 
grasped  the  weapon,  until  the  fingers  seemed  imbed 
ded  in  the  wood.  He  bowed,  however,  as  if  to  ac 
knowledge  the  personal  allusion,  and  remained  silent 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  239 

"  If  any  mourn  the  early  death  of  those  who  have 
rendered  up  their  being,  struggling,  as  it  may  be 
permitted,  in  behalf  of  life  and  dwelling,"  continued 
Mark  Heathcote,  regarding  a  female  near  him, "let 
her  remember,  that  from  the  beginning  of  the  world 
were  his  days  numbered,  and  that  r.ot  a  sparrow 
falleth  without  answering  the  ends  of  wisdom. 
Rather  let  the  fulfilment  of  things  remind  us  of  the 
vanity  of  life,  that  we  may  learn  how  easy  it  is  to 
become  immortal.  If  the  youth  hath  been  cut  down, 
seemingly  like  unripened  grass,  he  hath  fallen  by 
the  sickle  of  one  who  knoweth  best  when  to  begin 
the  in-gathering  of  the  harvest  to  his  eternal  garners. 
Though  a  spirit  bound  unto  his,  as  one  feeble  is 
wont  to  lean  on  the  strength  of  man  and  mourn 
over  his  fall,  let  her  sorrow  be  mingled  with  rejoic 
ing."  A  convulsive  sob  broke  out  of  the  bosom  of 
the  handmaiden  who  was  known  to  have  been  affi 
anced  to  one  of  the  dead,  and  for  a  moment  the 
address  of  Mark  was  interrupted.  But  when  silence 
again  ensued,  he  continued,  the  subject  leading  him, 
by  a  transition  that  was  natural,  to  allude  to  his  own 
sorrows.  "  Death  hath  been  no  stranger  in  my  ha  bita- 
tion,"  he  said.  "  His  shaft  fell  heaviest,  when  it  struck 
her,  who,  like  those  that  have  here  fallen,  was  in  the 
pride  of  her  youth,  and  when  her  soul  was  glad  with 
the  first  joy  of  the  birth  of  a  man-child  !  Thou  who 
sittest  on  high  !"  he  added,  turning  a  glazed  and  tear 
less  eye  to  heaven ;  "  thou  knowest  how  heavy  was  that 
blow,  and  thou  hast  written  down  the  strivings  of  an 
oppressed  soul.  The  burthen  was  not  found  too  heavy 
for  endurance.  The  sacrifice  hath  not  sufficed ;  the 
world  was  again  getting  uppermost  in  my  heart. 
Thou  didst  bestow  an  image  of  that  innocence  and 
loveliness  that  dwelleth  in  the  skies,  and  this  hast 
thou  taken  away,  that  we  might  know  thy  power. 
To  this  judgment  we  bow.  If  thou  hast  called  our 
child  to  the  mansions  of  bliss,  she  is  wholly  thine, 


240  THE  WEPT 

and  we  presume  not  to  complain ;  but  if  thou  hast 
still  left  her  to  wander  further  in  the  pilgrimage  of 
life,  we  confide  in  thy  goodness.  She  is  of  a  long- 
suffering  race,  and  thou  wilt  not  desert  her  to  the 
blindness  of  the  heathen.  She  is  thine,  she  is  wholly 
thine,  King  of  Heaven !  and  yet  hast  thou  permit 
ted  our  hearts  to  yearn  towards  her,  with  the  fond 
ness  of  earthly  love.  We  await  some  further  mani 
festation  of  thy  will,  that  we  may  know  whether 
the  fountains  of  our  affection  shall  be  dried  in  the 
certainty  of  her  blessedness — "  (scalding  tears  were 
Colling  down  the  cheeks  of  the  pallid  and  immovable 
mother)  "  or  whether  hope,  nay,  whether  duty  to 
thee  calleth  for  the  interference  of  those  bound  tc 
her  in  the  tenderness  of  the  flesh.  When  the  blow 
was  heaviest  on  the  bruised  spirit  of  a  lone  and  sol 
itary  wanderer,  in  a  strange  and  savage  land,  he 
held  not  back  the  offspring  it  was  thy  will  to  grant 
him  in  the  place  of  her  called  to  thyself;  and  now 
that  the  child  hath  become  a  man,  he  too  layeth, 
like  Abraham  of  old,  the  infant  of  his  love,  a  willing 
offering  at  thy  feet.  Do  with  it  as  to  thy  never-failing 
wisdom  seemeth  best." — The  words  were  interrupt 
ed  by  a  heavy  groan,  that  burst  from  the  chest  of 
Content.  A  deep  silence  ensued,  but  when  the  as 
sembly  ventured  to  throw  looks  of  sympathy  and 
awe  at  the  bereaved  father,  they  saw  that  he  had 
arisen  and  stood  gazing  steadily  at  the  speaker,  as  if 
he  wondered,  equally  with  the  others,  whence  such 
a  sound  of  suffering  could  have  come.  The  Puritan 
renewed  the  subject,  but  his  voice  faltered,  and  for 
an  instant,  as  he  proceeded,  his  hearers  were  op 
pressed  with  the  spectacle  of  an  aged  and  dignified 
man  shaken  with  grief.  Conscious  of  his  weakness, 
the  old  man  ceased  speaking  in  exhortation,  and 
addressed  himself  to  prayer.  While  thus  engaged, 
his  tones  again  became  clear,  firm  and  distinct,  and 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  241 

the  petition  was  ended  in  the  midst  of  a  deep  and 
holy  calm. 

With  the  performance  of  this  preliminary  office, 
the  simple  ceremony  was  brought  to  its  close.  The 
remains  were  lowered,  in  solemn  silence,  into  the 
grave,  and  the  earth  was  soon  replaced  by  the  young 
men.  Mark  Heathcote  then  invoked  aloud  the  bless 
ing  of  God  on  his  household,  and  bowing  in  person, 
as  he  had  before  done  in  spirit,  to  the  will  of  Heaven, 
he  motioned  to  the  family  to  withdraw. 

The  interview  that  succeeded  was  over  the  rest 
ing-place  of  the  dead.  The  hand  of  the  stranger 
was  firmly  clenched  in  that  of  the  Puritan,  and  the 
stern  self-command  of  both  appeared  to  give  way, 
before  the  regrets  of  a  friendship  that  had  endured 
through  so  many  trying  scenes. 

"  Thou  knowest  that  I  may  not  tarry,"  said  the 
former,  as  if  he  replied  to  some  expressed  wish  of 
his  companion.  "  They  would  make  me  a  sacrifice 
to  the  Moloch  of  their  vanities ;  and  yet  would  I 
fain  abide,  until  the  weight  of  this  heavy  blow  may 
be  forgotten.  I  found  thee  in  peace,  and  I  quit  thee 
in  the  depths  of  suffering !" 

"  Thou  distrustest  me,  or  thou  dost  injustice  to 
thine  own  belief,"  interrupted  the  Puritan,  with  a 
smile,  that  shone  on  his  haggard  and  austere  visage, 
as  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun  light  a  wintry  cloud 
"  Seemed  I  happier  when  this  hand  placed  that  ol 
a  loved  bride  into  mine  own,  than  thou  now  seest 
me  in  this  wilderness,  houseless,  stripped  of  my 
wealth,  and,  God  forgive  the  ingratitude  !  but  I  had 
almost  said,  childless  ?  No,  indeed,  thou  mayest  not 
tarry,  for  the  blood-hounds  of  tyranny  will  be  on 
their  scent ;  here  is  shelter  no  longer." 

The  eyes  of  both  turned,  by  a  common  and  mel 
ancholy  feeling,  towards  the  ruin  of  the  block.  The 
stranger  then  pressed  the  hand  of  his  friend  in  both 
his  own,  and  said  in  a  struggling  voice — 
21 


242  THE    WEPT 

"  Mark  Heathcote,  adieu !  he  that  had  a  roof  for 
the  persecuted  wanderer  shall  not  long  be  houseless; 
neither  shall  the  resigned  for  ever  know  sorrow." 

His  words  sounded  in  the  ears  of  his  companion 
like  the  revelation  of  a  prophecy.  They  again 
pressed  their  hands  together,  and,  regarding  each 
other  with  looks  in  which  kindness  could  not  be  al 
together  smothered  by  the  repulsive  character  of  an 
acquired  air,  they  parted.  The  Puritan  slowly  took 
his  way  to  the  dreary  shelter  which  covered  his  fam 
ily;  while  the  stranger  was  shortly  after  seen  urging 
the  beast  he  had  mounted,  across  the  pastures  of  the 
valley,  towards  one  of  the  most  retired  paths  of  the 
wilderness. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


*  Together  towards  the  village  then  we  walked, 
And  of  old  friends  and  places  much  we  talked : 
And  who  had  died,  who  left  them,  would  he  tell ; 
And  who  still  in  their  father's  mansion  dwell." 

DANA. 


WE  leave  the  imagination  of  the  reader  to  sup 
ply  an  interval  of  several  years.  Before  the  thread 
of  the  narrative  shall  be  resumed,  it  will  be  neces 
sary  to  take  another  hasty  view  of  the  condition  of 
the  country  in  which  the  scene  of  our  legend  had 
place. 

The  exertions  of  the  provincials  were  no  longer 
limited  to  the  first  efforts  of  a  colonial  existence. 
The  establishments  of  New-England  had  passed  the 
ordeal  of  experiment,  and  were  become  permanent. 
Massachusetts  was  already  populous ;  and  Connecti- 


or  WISH-TOJV-WISH.  243 

cut,  the  colony  with  which  we  have  more  immedi 
ate  connexion,  was  sufficiently  peopled  to  manifest 
a  portion  of  that  enterprise  which  has  since  made 
her  active  little  community  so  remarkable.  The 
effects  of  these  increased  exertions  were  becoming 
extensively  visible ;  and  we  shall  endeavor  to  set  one 
of  these  changes,  as  distinctly  as  our  feeble  powers 
will  allow,  before  the  eyes  of  those  who  read  these 
pages. 

When  compared  with  the  progress  of  society  in 
the  other  hemisphere,  the  condition  of  what  is  call 
ed,  in  America,  a  new  settlement,  becomes  anoma 
lous.  There,  the  arts  of  life  have  been  the  fruits 
of  an  intelligence  that  has  progressively  accumu 
lated  with  the  advancement  of  civilization ;  while 
here,  improvement  is,  in  a  great  degree,  the  conse 
quence  of  experience  elsewhere  acquired.  Neces 
sity,  prompted  by  an  understanding  of  its  wants 
incited  by  a  commendable  spirit  of  emulation,  and 
encouraged  by  liberty,  early  gave  birth  to  those 
improvements  which  have  converted  a  wilderness 
into  the  abodes  of  abundance  and  security,  with  a 
rapidity  that  wears  the  appearance  of  magic.  In 
dustry  has  wrought  with  the  confidence  of  know 
ledge,  and  the  result  has  been  peculiar. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that,  in  a  country 
where  the  laws  favor  all  commendable  enterprise, 
where  unnecessary  artificial  restrictions  are  un 
known,  and  where  the  hand  of  man  has  not  yet 
exhausted  its  efforts,  the  adventurer  is  allowed  the 
greatest  freedom  of  choice,  in  selecting  the  field  of 
his  enterprise.  The  agriculturist  passes  the  heath 
and  the  barren,  to  seat  himself  on  the  river-bottom; 
the  trader  looks  for  the  site  of  demand  and  supply 
and  the  artisan  quits  his  native  village  to  seek  em 
ployment  in  situations  where  labor  will  meet  its 
fullest  reward.  It  is  a  consequence  of  this  extraor 
dinary  freedom  of  election,  that,  while  the  greaf 


244  THE    WEPT 

picture  of  American  society  has  been  sketched  with 
so  much  boldness,  a  large  portion  of  the  filling-up 
still  remains  to  be  done.  The  emigrant  has  consult 
ed  his  immediate  interests ;  and,  while  no  very  ex 
tensive  and  profitable  territory,  throughout  the 
whole  of  our  immense  possessions,  has  been  wholly 
neglected,  neither  has  any  particular  distftict  yel 
attained  the  finish  of  improvement.  The  city  is 
even  now,  seen  in  the  wilderness,  and  the  wilder 
ness  often  continues  near  the  city,  while  the  lattei 
is  sending  forth  its  swarms  to  distant  scenes  of  in 
dustry.  After  thirty  years  of  fostering  care  on  the 
part  of  the  government,  the  Capital,  itself,  presents 
its  disjointed  and  sickly  villages,  in  the  centre  of 
the  deserted  '  old-fields'  of  Maryland,  while  number 
less  youthful  rivals  are  flourishing  on  the  waters  of 
the  West,  in  spots  where  the  bear  has  ranged  and 
the  wolf  howled,  long  since  the  former  has  been 
termed  a  city. 

Thus  it  is  that  high  civilization,  a  state  of  infant 
existence,  and  positive  barbarity,  are  often  brought 
so  near  each  other,  within  the  borders  of  this  re 
public.  The  traveller,  who  has  passed  the  night 
in  an  inn  that  would  not  disgrace  the  oldest  country 
in  Europe,  may  be  compelled  to  dine  in  the  shantee* 
of  a  hunter ;  the  smooth  and  gravelled  road  some 
times  ends  in  an  impassable  swamp ;  the  spires  of 
the  town  are  often  hid  by  the  branches  of  a  tangled 
forest,  and  the  canal  leads  to  a  seemingly  barren 
and  unprofitable  mountain.  He  that  does  not  return 
to  see  what  another  year  may  bring  forth,  commonly 


*  Shanty,  or  Shantee,  is  a  word  much  used  in  the  newer  settle 
ments.  It  strictly  means  a  rude  cabin  of  bark  and  brush,  such  as 
is  often  erected  in  the  forest  for  temporary  purposes.  But  the 
borderers  often  quaintly  apply  it  to  their  own  habitations.  The 
only  derivation  which  the  writer  has  heard  for  this  American 
word,  is  one  that  supposes  it  to  be  a  corruption  of  Chiente,  a  term 
said  to  be  used  among  the  Canadians  to  express  a  dog-kennel. 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  245 

bt  rs  away  from  these  scenes,  recollections  that 
conduce  to  error.  To  see  America  with  the  eyes  of 
truth,  it  is  necessary  to  look  often ;  and  in  order  to 
understand  the  actual  condition  of  these  states,  it 
should  be  remembered,  that  it  is  equally  unjust  to 
believe  that  all  the  intermediate  points  partake  of 
the  improvements  of  particular  places,  as  to  infer 
the  want  of  civilization  at  more  remote  establish 
ments,  from  a  few  unfavorable  facts  gleaned  near 
the  centre.  By  an  accidental  concurrence  of  moral 
and  physical  causes,  much  of  that  equality  which 
distinguishes  the  institutions  of  the  country  is  ex 
tended  to  the  progress  of  society  over  its  whole 
surface. 

Although  the  impetus  of  improvement  was  not 
as  great  in  the  time  of  Mark  Heathcote  as  in  our 
own  days,  the  principle  of  its  power  was  actively  in 
existence.  Of  this  fact  we  shall  furnish  a  sufficient 
evidence,  by  pursuing  our  intention  of  describing 
one  of  those  changes  to  which  allusion  has  already 
been  made. 

The  reader  will  remember  that  the  age  of  which 
we  write  had  advanced  into  the  last  quarter  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  The  precise  moment  at  which 
the  action  of  the  tale  must  re-commence,  was  that 
period  of  the  day  when  the  gray  of  twilight  was 
redeeming  objects  from  the  deep  darkness  with 
which  the  night  draws  to  its  close.  The  month  was 
June,  and  the  scene  such  as  it  may  be  necessary  to 
describe  with  some  particularity. 

Had  there  been  light,  and  had  one  been  favorably 
placed  to  enjoy  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  spot,  he 
would  have  seen  a  broad  and  undulating  field  of 
leafy  forest,  in  which  the  various  deciduous  trees 
of  New-England  were  relieved  by  the  deeper  ver 
dure  of  occasional  masses  of  evergreens.  In  the 
centre  of  this  swelling  and  nearly  interminable  out 
line  of  woods,  was  a  valley  that  spread  between 
21  * 


246  THE   WEPT 

three  low  mountains.  Over  the  bottom-land,  for  the 
distance  of  several  miles,  all  the  signs  of  a  settle 
ment  in  a  state  of  rapid  and  prosperous  improve 
ment  were  visible.  The  devious  course  of  a  deep 
and  swift  brook,  that  in  the  other  hemisphere  would 
have  been  termed  a  river,  was  to  be  traced  through 
the  meadows  by  its  borders  of  willow  and  sumach. 
At  a  point  near  the  centre  of  the  valley,  the  waters 
had  been  arrested  by  a  small  dam;  and  a  mill,  whose 
wheel  at  that  early  hour  was  without  motion,  stood 
on  the  artificial  mound.  Near  it  was  the  site  of  a 
New-England  hamlet. 

The  number  of  dwellings  in  the  village  might 
have  been  forty.  They  were,  as  usual,  constructed 
of  a  firm  frame-work,  neatly  covered  with  sidings 
of  boards.  There  was  a  surprising  air  of  equality 
in  the  general  aspect  of  the  houses ;  and,  if  there 
were  question  of  any  country  but  our  own,  it  might 
be  added  there  was  an  unusual  appearance  of  com 
fort  and  abundance  in  tven  the  humblest  of  them 
all.  They  were  mostly  of  two  low  stories,  the  su 
perior  overhanging  the  inferior,  by  a  foot  or  two ; 
a  mode  of  construction  much  in  use  in  the  earlier 
days  of  the  Eastern  Colonies.  As  paint  was  but 
little  used  at  that  time,  none  of  the  buildings  ex 
hibited  a  color  different  from  that  the  wood  would 
naturally  assume,  after  the  exposure  of  a  few  years 
to  the  weather.  Each  had  its  singie  chimney  in  the 
centre  of  the  roof,  and  but  two  or  three  showed 
more  than  a  solitary  window  on  each  side  of  the 
principal  or  outer  door.  In  front  of  every  dwelling 
was  a  small  neat  court,  in  green  sward,  separated 
from  the  public  road  by  a  light  fence  of  deal.  Double 
rows  of  young  and  vigorous  elms  lined  each  side  of 
the  wide  street,  while  an  enormous  sycamore  still 
kept  possession  of  the  spot,  in  its  centre,  which  it 
had  occupied  when  the  white  man  entered  the 
forest.  Beneath  the  shade  of  this  tree  the  inhabit- 


OF    \VISH-TON-\N  ISH.  247 

ants  often  collected,  to  gather  tidings  of  each  other's 
welfare,  or  to  listen  to  some  matter  of  interest  that 
rumor  had  borne  from  the  towns  nearer  the  sea. 
A  narrow  and  little-used  wheel-track  ran,  with  a 
graceful  and  sinuous  route,  through  the  centre  of 
the  wide  and  grassy  street.  Reduced  in  appearance 
to  little  more  than  a  bridle-path,  it  was  to  be 
traced,  without  the  hamlet,  between  high  fences 
of  wood,  for  a  mile  or  two,  to  the  points  where  it 
entered  the  forest.  Here  and  there,  roses  were 
pressing  through  the  openings  of  the  fences  before 
the  doors  of  the  different  habitations,  and  bushes 
of  fragrant  lilacs  stood  in  the  angles  of  most  of  the 
courts. 

The  dwellings  were  detached.  Each  occupied 
its  own  insulated  plot  of  ground,  with  a  garden  in 
its  rear.  The  out-buildings  were  thrown  to  that 
distance  which  the  cheapness  of  land,  and  security 
from  fire,  rendered  both  easy  and  expedient. 

The  church  stood  in  the  centre  of  the  highway, 
and  near  one  end  of  the  hamlet.  In  the  exterior 
and  ornaments  of  the  important  temple,  the  taste  of 
the  times  had  been  fastidiously  consulted,  its  form 
and  simplicity  furnishing  no  slight  resemblance  to 
the  self-denying  doctrines  and  quaint  humors  of  the 
religionists  who  worshipped  beneath  its  roof.  The 
building,  like  all  the  rest,  was  of  wood,  and  exter 
nally  of  two  stories.  It  possessed  a  tower,  without 
a  spire;  the  former  alone  serving  to  betray  its 
sacred  character.  In  the  construction  of  this  edifice, 
especial  care  had  been  taken  to  eschew  all  devia 
tions  from  direct  lines  and  right  angles.  Those  nar 
row-arched  passages  for  the  admission  of  light,  that 
are  elsewhere  so  common,  were  then  thought,  by 
the  stern  moralists  of  New-England,  to  have  some 
mysterious  connexion  with  her  of  the  scarlet  man 
tle.  The  priest  would  as  soon  have  thought  of  ap 
pearing  before  his  flock  in  the  vanities  of  stole  and 


248  THE    WEPT 

cassock,  as  the  congregation  of  admitting  the  repu 
diated  ornaments  into  the  outline  of  their  severe 
architecture.  Had  the  Genii  of  the  Lamp  suddenly 
exchanged  the  windows  of  the  sacred  edifice  with 
those  of  the  inn  that  stood  nearly  opposite,  the 
closest  critic  of  the  settlement  could  never  have 
detected  the  liberty,  since,  in  the  form,  dimensions, 
and  style  of  the  two,  there  was  no  visible  difference. 

A  little  inclosure,  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
church,  and  on  one  side  of  the  street,  had  been  set 
apart  for  the  final  resting-place  of  those  who  had 
finished  their  race  on  earth.  It  contained  but  a  soli 
tary  grave. 

The  inn  was  to  be  distinguished  from  the  sur 
rounding  buildings,  by  its  superior  size,  an  open 
horse-shed,  and  a  sort  of  protruding  air,  with  which 
it  thrust  itself  on  the  line  of  the  street,  as  if  to  in 
vite  the  traveller  to  enter.  A  sign  swung  on  a  gal 
lows-looking  post,  that,  in  consequence  of  frosty 
nights  and  warm  days,  had  already  deviated  from 
the  perpendicular.  It  bore  a  conceit  that,  at  the 
first  glance,  might  have  gladdened  the  heart  of  a 
naturalist,  with  the  belief  that  he  had  made  the 
discovery  of  some  unknown  bird.  The  artist,  how 
ever,  had  sufficiently  provided  against  the  conse 
quences  of  so  embarrassing  a  blunder,  by  consider 
ately  writing  beneath  the  offspring  of  his  pencil, 
"This  is  the  sign  of  the  Whip-Poor- Will ;"  a  name, 
that  the  most  unlettered  traveller,  in  those  regions, 
would  be  likely  to  know  was  vulgarly  given  to  the 
Wish-Ton-Wish,  or  the  American  night-hawk. 

But  few  relics  of  the  forest  remained  immediate 
ly  around  the  hamlet.  The  trees  had  long  been 
felled,  and  sufficient  time  had  elapsed  to  remove 
most  of  the  vestiges  of  their  former  existence.  But 
as  the  eye  receded  from  the  cluster  of  buildings, 
the  signs  of  more  recent  inroads  on  the  wilderness 
became  apparent,  until  the  view  terminated  with 


OF  WISH-TON-WISH.  249 

openings,  in  which  piled  logs  and  mazes  of  felled 
trees  announced  the  recent  use  of  the  axe. 

At  that  early  day,  the  American  husbandman, 
like  the  agriculturists  of  most  of  Europe,  dwelt  in 
his  village.  The  dread  of  violence  from  the  sav 
ages  had  given  rise  to  a  custom  similar  to  that 
which,  centuries  before,  had  been  produced  in  the 
other  hemisphere  by  the  inroads  of  more  pretending 
barbarians,  and  which,  with  few  and  distant  excep 
tions,  has  deprived  rural  scenery  of  a  charm  that, 
it  would  seem,  time  and  a  better  condition  of  society 
are  slow  to  repair.  Some  remains  of  this  ancient 
practice  are  still  to  be  traced  in  the  portion  of  the 
Union  of  which  we  write,  where,  even  at  this  day, 
the  farmer  often  quits  the  village  to  seek  his  scat 
tered  fields  in  its  neighborhood.  Still,  as  man  has 
never  been  the  subject  of  a  system  here,  and  as 
each  individual  has  always  had  the  liberty  of  con 
sulting  his  own  temper,  bolder  spirits  early  began 
to  break  through  a  practice,  by  which  quite  as 
much  was  lost  in  convenience  as  was  gained  in  se 
curity.  Even  in  the  scene  we  have  been  describing, 
ten  or  twelve  humble  habitations  were  distributed 
among  the  recent  clearings  on  the  sides  of  the 
mountains,  and  in  situations  too  remote  to  promise 
much  security  against  any  sudden  inroad  of  the 
common  enemy. 

For  general  protection,  in  cases  of  the  last  ex 
tremity,  however,  a  stockaded  dwelling,  not  unlike 
that  which  we  have  had  occasion  to  describe  in  our 
earlier  pages,  stood  in  a  convenient  spot  near  the 
hamlet.  Its  defences  were  stronger  and  more  elab 
orate  than  usual,  the  pickets  being  furnished  with 
flanking  block-houses;  and,  in  other  respects,  the 
building  bore  the  aspect  of  a  work  equal  to  any  re 
sistance  that  might  be  required  in  the  warfare  of 
those  regions.  The  ordinary  habitation  of  the  priest 
was  within  its  gates ;  and  hither  most  of  the  sick 


250  THE    WEPT 

were  timely  conveyed,  in  order  to  anticipate  the 
necessity  of  removals  at  more  inconvenient  moments, 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  tell  the  American,  that 
heavy  wooden  fences  subdivided  the  whole  of  this 
little  landscape  into  inclosures  of  some  eight  or  ten 
acres  in  extent ;  that,  here  and  there,  cattle  and 
flocks  were  grazing  without  herdsmen  or  shepherds, 
and  that,  while  the  fields  nearest  to  the  dwellings 
were  beginning  to  assume  the  appearance  of  a  care 
ful  and  improved  husbandry,  those  more  remote  be 
came  gradually  wilder  and  less  cultivated,  until  the 
half-reclaimed  openings,  with  their  blackened  stubs 
and  barked  trees,  were  blended  with  the  gloom  of 
the  living  forest.  These  are,  more  or  less,  the  ac 
companiments  of  every  rural  scene,  in  districts  of 
the  country  where  time  has  not  yet  effected  more 
than  the  first  two  stages  of  improvement. 

At  the  distance  of  a  short  half-mile  from  the  for 
tified  house,  or  garrison,  as  by  a  singular  corruption 
of  terms  the  stockaded  building  was  called,  stood  a 
dwelling  of  pretensions  altogether  superior  to  any 
in  the  hamlet.  The  buildings  in  question,  though 
simple,  were  extensive  ;  and  though  scarcely  other 
than  such  as  might  belong  to  an  agriculturist  in 
easy  circumstances,  still  they  were  remarkable,  in 
that  settlement,  by  the  comforts  which  time  alone 
could  accumulate,  and  some  of  which  denoted  an 
advanced  condition  for  a  frontier  family.  In  short, 
there  was  an  air  about  the  establishment,  as  in  the 
disposition  of  its  out-buildings,  in  the  superior  work 
manship,  in  the  materials,  and  in  numberless  other 
well-known  circumstances,  which  went  to  show  that 
the  whole  of  the  edifices  were  re-constructions.  The 
fields  near  this  habitation  exhibited  smoother  sur 
faces  than  those  in  the  distance ;  the  fences  wore 
lighter  and  less  rude;  the  stumps  had  absolutely 
disappeared,  and  the  gardens  and  homestead  were 
well  planted  with  flourishing  fruit-trees.  A  conical 


OF    WISH-TOX-WISH.  251 

eminence  arose,  at  a  short  distance,  in  the  rear  of 
the  principal  dwelling.  It  was  covered  with  that 
beautiful  and  peculiar  ornament  of  an  American 
farm,  a  regular,  thrifty,  and  luxuriant  apple-orchard. 
Still,  age  had  not  given  its  full  beauty  to  the  plan 
tation,  which  might  have  had  a  growth  of  some 
eight  or  ten  years.  A  blackened  tower  of  stone, 
which  sustained  the  charred  ruins  of  a  superstruc 
ture  of  wood,  though  of  no  great  height  in  itself, 
rose  above  the  tallest  of  the  trees,  and  stood  a  suf 
ficient  memorial  of  some  scene  of  violence,  in  the 
brief  history  of  the  valley.  There  was  also  a  small 
block-house  near  the  habitation ;  but,  by  the  air  of 
neglect  that  reigned  around,  it  was  quite  apparent 
the  little  work  had  been  of  a  hurried  construction, 
and  of  but  temporary  use.  A  few  young  plantations 
of  fruit-trees  were  also  to  be  seen  in  different  parts 
of  the  valley,  which  was  beginning  to  exhibit  many 
other  evidences  of  an  improved  agriculture. 

So  far  as  all  these  artificial  changes  went,  they 
were  of  an  English  character.  But  it  was  England 
devoid  alike  of  its  luxury  and  its  poverty,  and  with 
a  superfluity  of  space  that  gave  to  the  meanest 
habitation  in  the  view,  an  air  of  abundance  and 
comfort  that  is  so  often  wanting  about  the  dwellings 
of  the  comparatively  rich,  in  countries  where  man 
is  found  bearing  a  far  greater  numerical  proportion 
to  the  soil,  than  was  then,  or  is  even  now  the  case, 
in  the  regions  of  which  we  write. 


252  THE    WEPT 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


"Come  hither,  neighbor  Sea-coal — God  hath  blessed  yon  frith 
a  good  name :  to  be  a  well-favored  man  is  the  gift  of  fortune  ;  but 
to  write  and  read  comes  by  Nature." 

MUCH  ADO  ABOUT  NOTHING. 


IT  has  already  been  said,  that  the  hour  at  which 
the  action  of  the  tale  must  re-commence,  was  early 
morning.  The  usual  coolness  of  night,  in  a  country 
extensively  covered  with  wood,  had  passed,  and  the 
warmth  of  a  summer  morning,  in  that  low  latitude, 
was  causing  the  streaks  of  light  vapor,  that  floated 
about  the  meadows,  to  rise  above  the  trees.  The 
feathery  patches  united  to  form  a  cloud  that  sailed 
away  towards  the  summit  of  a  distant  mountain, 
which  appeared  to  be  a  common  rendezvous  for 
all  the  mists  that  had  been  generated  by  the  pas* 
hours  of  darkness. 

Though  the  burnished  sky  announced  his  near 
approach,  the  sun  was  not  yet  visible.  Not  with* 
standing  the  earliness  of  the  hour,  a  man  was 
already  mounting  a  little  ascent  in  the  road,  at  no 
great  distance  from  the  southern  entrance  of  the 
hamlet,  and  at  a  point  where  he  could  command  a 
view  of  all  the  objects  described  in  the  preceding 
chapter.  A  musket  thrown  across  his  left  shoulder, 
with  the  horn  and  pouch  at  his  sides,  together  with 
the  little  wallet  at  his  back,  proclaimed  him  one 
who  had  either  been  engaged  in  a  hunt,  or  in  some 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  253 

short  expedition  of  even  a  less  peaceable  character. 
His  dress  was  of  the  usual  material  and  fashion  of 
a  countryman  of  the  age  and  colony,  though  a  short 
broadsword,  that  was  thrust  through  a  wampum 
belt  which  girded  his  body,  might  have  attracted 
observation.  In  all  other  respects,  he  had  the  air 
of  an  inhabitant  of  the  hamlet,  who  had  found  oc 
casion  to  quit  his  abode  on  some  affair  of  pleasure 
or  of  duty,  that  had  made  no  very  serious  demand 
on  his  time. 

Whether  native  or  stranger,  few  ever  passed  the 
hillock  named,  without  pausing  to  gaze  at  the  quiet 
loveliness  of  the  cluster  of  houses  that  lay  in  full 
view  from  its  summit.  The  individual  mentioned 
loitered  as  usual,  but,  instead  of  following  the  line 
of  the  path,  his  eye  rather  sought  some  object  in 
the  direction  of  the  fields.  Moving  leisurely  to  the 
nearest  fence,  he  threw  down  the  upper  rails  of 
a  pair  of  bars,  and  beckoned  to  a  horseman,  who 
was  picking  his  way  across  a  broken  bit  of  pasture 
land,  to  enter  the  highway  by  the  passage  he  had 
opened. 

"  Put  the  spur  smartly  into  the  pacer's  flank," 
said  he  who  had  done  this  act  of  civility,  observing 
that  the  other  hesitated  to  urge  his  beast  across 
the  irregular  and  somewhat  scattered  pile;  "my 
word  for  it,  the  jade  goes  over  them  all,  without 
touching  with  more  than  three  of  her  four  feet. 
Fie,  doctor  !  there  is  never  a  cow  in  the  Wish-Ton- 
Wish,  but  it  would  take  the  leap  to  be  in  the  first 
at  the  milking." 

"  Softly,  Ensign ;"  returned  the  timid  equestrian, 
laying  the  emphasis  on  the  final  syllable  of  his  com 
panion's  title,  and  pronouncing  the  first  as  if  it  were 
spelt  with  the  third  instead  of  the  second  vowel. 
'  Thy  courage  is  meet  for  one  set  apart  for  deeds 
of  valor,  but  it  would  be  a  sorrowful  day  when  the 
ailing  of  the  valley  should  knock  at  my  door,  and  a 
22 


254  THE    WEPT 

broken  limb  be  made  the  apology  for  want  of  suc 
cor.  Thy  efforts  will  not  avail  thee,  man ;  for  the 
mare  hath  had  schooling,  as  well  as  her  master.  I 
have  trained  the  beast  to  methodical  habits,  and 
she  hath  come  to  have  a  rooted  dislike  to  all  irreg 
ularities  of  movement.  So,  cease  tugging  at  the 
rein,  as  if  thou  wouldst  compel  her  to  pass  the  pile 
in  spite  of  her  teeth,  and  throw  down  the  upper 
bar  altogether." 

"  A  doctor  in  these  rugged  parts  should  be  mount 
ed  on  one  of  these  ambling  birds  of  which  we  read," 
said  the  other,  removing  the  obstacle  to  the  secure 
passage  of  his  friend ;  "  for  truly  a  journey  at  night, 
in  the  paths  of  these  clearings,  is  not  always  as  safe 
moving  as  that  which  is  said  to  be  enjoyed  by  the 
settlers  nearer  sea." 

"  And  where  hast  found  mention  of  a  bird  of  a 
size  and  velocity  fit  to  be  the  bearer  of  the  weight 
of  a  man  ?'  demanded  he  who  was  mounted,  with 
a  vivacity  that  betrayed  some  jealousy  on  the  sub 
ject  of  a  monopoly  of  learning.  I  had  thought 
there  was  never  a  book  in  the  valley,  out  of  mine 
own  closet,  that  dealeth  in  these  abstrusities !" 

"  Dost  think  the  scriptures  are  strangers  to  us  ? 
There — thou  art  now  in  the  public  path,  and  thy 
journey  is  without  danger.  It  is  matter  of  marvel 
to  many  in  this  settlement,  how  thou  movest  about 
at  midnight,  amongst  upturned  roots  of  trees,  holes, 
logs  and  stumps,  without  falling " 

"  I  have  told  thee,  Ensign,  it  is  by  virtue  of  much 
training  given  to  the  beast.  Certain  am  I,  that 
neither  whip  nor  spur  would  compel  the  animal  to 
pass  the  bounds  of  discretion.  Often  have  I  travelled 
this  bridle-path,  without  fear  as  in  truth  without 
danger,  when  sight  was  a  sense  of  as  little  use  as 
that  of  smelling." 

"  I  was  about  to  sav  falling  into  thine  own  hands. 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  255 

which  would  be  a  tumble  of  little  less  jeopardy  than 
even  that  of  the  wicked  spirits." 

The  medical  man  affected  to  laugh  at  his  com 
panion's  joke ;  but,  remembering  the  dignity  suited 
to  one  of  his  calling,  he  immediately  resumed  the 
discourse  with  gravity — 

"These  may  be  matters  of  levity,  with  those 
who  know  little  of  the  hardships  that  are  endured 
in  the  practice  of  the  settlements.  Here  l^ave  ] 
oeen  on  yonder  mountain,  guided  by  the  instinct  of 
my  horse " 

"  Ha  !  hath  there  been  a  call  at  the  dwelling  of 
my  brother  Ring  ?"  demanded  the  pedestrian,  ob 
serving,  by  the  direction  of  the  other's  eye,  the  road 
he  had  been  travelling. 

"Truly,  there  hath;  and  at  the  unseasonable 
hour  that  is  wont,  in  a  very  unreasonable  proportion 
of  the  cases  of  my  practice." 

"  And  Reuben  numbereth  another  boy  to  the  four 
that  he  could  count  yesterday  V9 

The  medical  man  held  up  three  of  his  fingers,  in 
a  significant  manner,  as  he  nodded  assent. 

"  This  putteth  Faith  something  in  arrears,"  re 
turned  he  who  has  been  called  Ensign,  and  who 
was  no  other  than  the  reader's  old  acquaintance 
Eben  Dudley,  preferred  to  that  station  in  the  train 
band  of  the  valley.  "The  heart  of  my  brother 
Reuben  will  be  gladdened  by  these  tidings,  when 
he  shall  return  from  the  scout." 

"  There  will  be  occasion  for  thankfulness,  since 
he  will  find  seven  beneath  a  roof  where  he  left  but 
four !" 

"  I  will  close  the  bargain  with  the  young  captain 
for  the  mountain  lot,  this  very  day !"  muttered 
Dudley,  like  one  suddenly  convinced  of  the  prudence 
of  a  long-debated  measure.  "  Seven  pounds  of  the 
colony  money  is  no  usurer's  price,  after  all,  for  a 
hundred  acres  of  heavily-timbered  land;  and  they 


256  THE    WEPT 

in  full  view  of  a  settlement  where  boys  come  three 
at  a  time  !" 

The  equestrian  stopped  his  horse,  and  regarding 
his  companion  intently  and  with  a  significant  air,  he 
answered — 

"  Thou  hast  now  fallen  on  the  clue  of  an  impor 
tant  mystery,  Ensign  Dudley.  This  continent  was 
created  with  a  design.  The  fact  is  apparent  by  its 
riches,  its  climate,  its  magnitude,  its  facilities  of 
navigation,  and  chiefly  in  that  it  hath  been  left  un 
discovered  until  the  advanced  condition  of  society 
hath  given  opportunity  and  encouragement  to  men 
of  a  certain  degree  of  merit,  to  adventure  in  its 
behalf.  Consider,  neighbor,  the  wonderful  progress 
it  hath  already  made  in  the  arts  and  in  learning,  in 
reputation  and  in  resources,  and  thou  wilt  agree 
with  me  in  the  conclusion  that  all  this  hath  .been 
done  with  a  design." 

"  'T would  be  presuming  to  doubt  it ;  for  he  hath 
indeed  a  short  memory,  to  whom  it  shall  be  neces 
sary  to  recall  the  time  when  this  very  valley  was 
little  other  than  a  den  for  beasts  of  prey,  and  this 
beaten  highway,  a  deer-track.  Dost  think  that 
Reuben  will  be  like  to  raise  the  whole  of  the  recent 
gift  ?» 

"  With  judgment,  and  by  the  blessing  of  Provi 
dence.  The  mind  is  active,  Ensign  Dudley,  when 
the  body  is  journeying  among  the  forests ;  and  much 
have  my  thoughts  been  exercised  in  this  matter, 
whilst  thou  and  others  have  been  in  your  slumbers. 
Here  have  we  the  colonies  in  their  first  century, 
and  yet  thou  knowest  to  what  a  pass  of  improvement 
they  have  arrived.  They  tell  me  the  Hartford  set 
tlement  is  getting  to  be  apportioned  like  the  towns 
of  mother  England,  that  there  is  reason  to  think 
the  day  may  come  when  the  provinces  shall  have 
a  power,  and  a  convenience  of  culture  and  commu- 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  257 

nication,  equalling  that  which  belongeth  to  some 
parts  of  the  venerable  island  itself!" 

"  Nay,  nay,  Doctor  Ergot,"  returned  the  other 
with  an  incredulous  smile,  "  that  is  exceeding  the 
bounds  of  a  discretionable  expectation." 

"  Thou  wilt  remember  that  I  said  equalling  to 
certain  parts.  I  think  we  may  justly  imagine,  that 
ere  many  centuries  shall  elapse,  there  may  be  mil 
lions  counted  in  these  regions,  and  truly  that,  too, 
where  one  seeth  nought,  at  present,  but  the  savage 
and  the  beast." 

"  I  will  go  with  any  man,  in  this  question,  as  far 
as  reason  will  justify;  but  doubtless  thou  hast  read 
in  the  books  uttered  by  writers  over  sea,  the  matters 
concerning  the  condition  of  those  countries,  wherein 
it  is  plain  that  we  may  never  hope  to  reach  the  ex 
alted  excellence  they  enjoy." 

"  Neighbor  Dudley,  thou  seemest  disposed  to  push 
an  unguarded  expression  to  extremity.  I  said  equal 
ling  certain  parts,  meaning  always,  too,  in  certain 
things.  Now  it  is  known  in  philosophy,  that  the 
stature  of  man  hath  degenerated,  and  must  degen 
erate  in  these  regions,  in  obedience  to  established 
laws  of  nature  ;  therefore  it  is  meet  that  allowance 
should  be  made  for  some  deficiency  in  less  material 
qualities." 

"  It  is  like,  then,  that  the  better  sort  of  the  men 
over  sea  are  ill-disposed  to  quit  their  country,"  re 
turned  the  Ensign,  glancing  an  eye  of  some  unbelief 
along  the  muscular  proportions  of  his  own  vigorous 
frame.  "We  have  no  less  than  three  from  the  old 
countries  in  our  village,  here,  and  yet  I  do  not  find 
them  men  like  to  have  been  sought  for  at  the  build 
ing  of  Babel." 

"  This  is  settling  a  knotty  and  learned  point  by 
the  evidence  of  a  few  shallow  exceptions.  I  pre 
sume  to  tell  you,  Ensign  Dudley,  that  the  science, 
and  wisdom,  and  philosophy  of  Europe,  have  been 
22* 


258  THE    WEPT 

exceeding  active  in  this  matter;  and  they  have 
proved  to  their  own  perfect  satisfaction,  which  is 
the  same  thing  as  disposing  of  the  question  without 
appeal,  that  man  and  beast,  plant  and  tree,  hill  and 
dale,  lake  and  pond,  sun,  air,  fire  and  water,  are  all 
wanting  in  some  of  the  perfectness  of  the  older 
regions.  T  respect  a  patriotic  sentiment,  and  can 
carry  the  disposition  to  applaud  the  bounties  re 
ceived  from  the  hands  of  a  beneficent  Creator  as 
far  as  any  man ;  but  that  which  hath  been  demon 
strated  by  science,  or  collected  by  learning,  is  placed 
too  far  beyond  the  objections  of  light-minded  cavil 
lers,  to  be  doubted  by  graver  faculties." 

"I  shall  not  contend  against  things  that  are 
proven,"  returned  Dudley,  who  was  quite  as  meek 
in  discussion  as  he  was  powerful  and  active  in  more 
physical  contests ;  "  since  it  needs  be  that  the  learn 
ing  of  men  in  the  old  countries  must  have  an  ex 
ceeding  excellence,  in  virtue  of  its  great  age.  It 
would  be  a  visit  to  remember,  should  some  of  its 
rare  advantages  be  dispersed  in  these  our  own 
youthful  regions !" 

"  And  can  it  be  said  that  our  mental  wants  have 
been  forgotten — that  the  nakedness  of  the  mind 
hath  been  suffered  to  go  without  its  comely  vest 
ment,  neighbor  Dudley?  To  me,  it  seemeth,  that 
therein  we  have  unwonted  reason  to  rejoice,  and 
that  the  equilibrium  of  nature  is  in  a  manner  re 
stored  by  the  healing  exercises  of  art.  It  is  unseemly 
in  an  unenlightened  province,  to  insist  on  qualities 
that  have  been  discreetly  disproven;  but  learning 
is  a  transferable  and  communicable  gift,  and  it  is 
meet  to  affirm  that  it  is  to  be  found  here,  in  quan 
tities  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  colony." 

"  I'll  not  gainsay  it,  for  having  been  more  of  an 
adventurer  in  the  forest  than  one  who  hath  travel 
led  in  quest  of  sights  among  the  settlements  along 
the  sea-shore,  it  may  happen  that  many  things  are 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  259 

to  be  seen  there,  of  which  my  poor  abilities  have 
formed  no  opinion." 

"  And  are  we  utterly  unenlightened,  even  in  this 
distant  valley,  Ensign  ?"  returned  the  leech,  leaning 
over  the  neck  of  his  horse,  and  addressing  his  com 
panion  in  a  mild  and  persuasive  tone,  that  he  had 
probably  acquired  in  his  extensive  practice  among 
the  females  of  the  settlement.  "  Are  we  to  be  class 
ed  with  the  heathen  in  knowledge,  or  to  be  account 
ed  as  the  unnurtured  men  who  are  known  once  to 
have  roamed  through  these  forests  in  quest  of  their 
game  ?  Without  assuming  any  infallibility  of  judg 
ment,  or  aspiring  to  any  peculiarity  of  information, 
it  doth  not  appear  to  my  defective  understanding, 
Master  Dudley,  that  the  progress  of  the  settlement 
hath  ever  been  checked  for  want  of  necessary  fore 
sight,  nor  that  the  growth  of  reason  among  us  hath 
ever  been  stunted  from  any  lack  of  mental  aliment. 
Our  councils  are  not  barren  of  wisdom,  Ensign,  nor 
hath  it  often  arrived  that  abstrusities  have  been 
propounded,  that  some  one  intellect,  to  say  no  more 
in  our  own  favor,  hath  not  been  known  to  grapple 
with,  successfully." 

"  That  there  are  men,  or  perhaps  I  ought  to  say 
that  there  is  a  man,  in  the  valley,  who  is  equal  to 
many  marvels  in  the  way  of  enlightened  gifts -" 

"  I  knew  we  should  come  to  peaceable  conclusions, 
Ensign  Dudley,"  interrupted  the  other,  rising  erect 
in  his  saddle,  with  an  air  of  appeased  dignity ;  "  for 
I  have  ever  found  you  a  discreet  and  consequent 
reasoner,  and  one  who  is  never  known  to  resist  con 
viction,  when  truth  is  pressed  with  understanding 
That  the  men  from  over  sea  are  not  often  so  well 
gifted  as  some — we  will  say,  for  the  sake  of  a  con 
venient  illustration,  as  thyself,  Ensign — is  placed 
beyond  the  reach  of  debate,  since  sight  teacheth  us 
that  numberless  exceptions  may  be  found  to  all  the 


260  THE   WEPT 

more  general  and  distinctive  laws  of  nature.  I  think 
we  are  not  likely  to  carry  our  disagreement  further  ?" 

"  It  is  impossible  to  make  head  against  one  so 
ready  with  his  knowledge,"  returned  the  other,  well 
content  to  exist  in  his  own  person  a  striking  excep 
tion  to  the  inferiority  of  his  fellows ;  "  though  it 
appeareth  to  me  that  my  brother  Ring  might  be 
chosen,  as  another  instance  of  a  reasonable  stature 
a  fact  that  thou  mayst  see,  Doctor,  by  regarding 
him  as  he  approaches  through  yon  meadow.  He 
hath  been,  like  myself,  on  the  scout  among  the 
mountains." 

"  There  are  many  instances  of  physical  merit 
among  thy  connexions,  Master  Dudley,"  returned 
the  complaisant  physician ;  "  though  it  would  seem 
that  thy  brother  hath  not  found  his  companion  among 
them.  He  is  attended  by  an  ill-grown,  and,  it  may 
be  added,  an  ill-favored  comrade,  that  I  know  not." 

"  Ha  !  It  would  seem  that  Reuben  hath  fallen  on 
the  trail  of  savages !  The  man  in  company  is  cer 
tainly  in  paint  and  blanket.  It  may  be  well  to 
pause  at  yonder  opening,  and  await  their  coming." 

As  this  proposition  imposed  no  particular  inconve 
nience,  the  Doctor  readily  assented.  The  two  drew 
nigh  to  the  place  where  the  men,  whom  they  saw 
crossing  the  fields  in  the  distance,  were'  expected  to 
enter  the  highway. 

But  little  time  was  lost  in  attendance.  Ere  many 
minutes  had  elapsed,  Reuben  Ring,  accoutred  and 
armed  like  the  borderer  already  introduced  in  this 
chapter,  arrived  at  the  opening,  followed  by  the 
stranger  whose  appearance  had  caused  so-  much 
surprise  to  those  who  watched  their  approach. 

"  What  now,  Sergeant,"  exclaimed  Dudley,  when 
the  other  Avas  within  ear-shot,  speaking  a  little  in 
the  manner  of  one  who  had  legal  right  to  propound 
his  questions;  "  hast  fallen  on  a  trail  of  the  savage, 
and  made  a  captive  ?  or  hath  some  owl  permitted 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  261 

one  of  its  brood  to  fall  from  the  nest  across  thy  foot 
path  r 

"  I  believe  the  creature  may  be  accounted  a  man," 
returned  the  successful  Reuben,  throwing  the  breech 
of  his  gun  to  the  earth,  and  leaning  on  its  long  bar 
rel,  while  he  intently  regarded  the  half-painted 
vacant,  and  extremely  equivocal  countenance  of 
his  captive.  "  He  hath  the  colors  of  a  Narragansett 
about  the  brow  and  eyes,  and  yet  he  faileth  greatly 
in  the  form  and  movements." 

"  There  are  anomalies  in  the  physicals  of  an  In 
dian,  as  in  those  of  other  men,"  interrupted  Doctor 
Ergot,  with  a  meaning  glance  at  Dudley.  "  The 
conclusion  of  our  neighbor  Ring  may  be  too  hasty, 
since  paint  is  the  fruit  of  art,  and  may  be  applied 
to  any  of  our  faces,  after  an  established  usage.  But 
the  evidences  of  nature  are  far  less  to  be  distrusted. 
It  hath  come  within  the  province  of  my  studies,  to 
note  the  differences  in  formation  which  occur  in  the 
different  families  of  man  ;  and  nothing  is  more  readi 
ly  to  be  known,  to  an  eye  skilled  in  these  abstrusi 
ties,  than  the  aboriginal  of  the  tribe  Narragansett, 
Set  the  man  more  in  a  position  of  examination, 
neighbors,  and  it  shall  shortly  be  seen  to  which  race 
he  belongs.  Thou  wilt  note  in  this  little  facility  of 
investigation,  Ensign,  a  clear  evidence  of  most  of 
the  matters  that  have  this  morning  been  agitated 
between  us.  Doth  the  patient  speak  English  ?" 

"  Therein  have  I  found  some  difficulty  of  inquiry," 
returned  Reuben,  or  as  he  should  now  be,  and  as  he 
was  usually  called,  Sergeant  Ring.  "  He  hath  been 
spoken  to  in  the  language  of  a  Christian,  no  less 
than  in  that  of  a  heathen,  and  as  yet  no  reply  hath 
been  made,  while  he  obeys  commands  uttered  in 
both  forms  of  speech." 

"  It  mattereth  not,"  said  Ergot,  dismounting  and 
drawing  near  to  his  subject,  with  a  look  towards 
Dudley  that  should  seem  to  court  his  admiration. 


262  THE   WEPT 

"  Happily  the  examination  before  me  leaneth  but 
little  on  any  subtleties  of  speech.  Let  the  man  be 
placed  in  an  attitude  of  ease ;  one  in  which  nature 
may  not  be  fettered  by  restraint.  The  conformation 
of  the  whole  head  is  remarkably  aboriginal,  but  the 
distinction  of  tribes  is  not  to  be  sought  in  these  gene 
ral  delineations.  The  forehead,  as  you  see,  neigh 
bors,  is  retreating  and  narrow,  the  cheek-bones,  as 
usual,  high,  and  the  olfactory  member,  as  in  all  of 
the  natives,  inclining  to  Roman." 

"  Now  to  me  it  would  seem  that  the  nose  of  the 
man  hath  a  marked  upturning  at  the  end,"  Dudley 
ventured  to  remark,  as  the  other  ran  volubly  over 
the  general  and  well-known  distinctive  points  of 
physical  construction  in  an  Indian. 

"  As  an  exception  !  Thou  seest,  Ensign,  by  this 
elevation  of  the  bone,  and  the  protuberance  of  the 
more  fleshy  parts,  that  the  peculiarity  is  an  excep 
tion.  I  should  rather  have  said  that  the  nose  origi 
nally  inclined  to  the  Roman.  The  departure  from 
regularity  has  been  produced  by  some  casualty  of 
their  warfare,  such  as  a  blow  from  a  tomahawk,  or 
the  gash  of  a  knife — ay  !  here  thou  seest  the  scar 
left  by  the  weapon  !  It  is  concealed  by  the  paint,  but 
remove  that,  and  you  will  find  it  hath  all  the  form 
of  a  cicatrice  of  a  corresponding  shape.  These  de 
partures  from  generalities  have  a  tendency  to  con 
found  pretenders ;  a  happy  circumstance,  in  itself, 
for  the  progress  of  knowledge  on  fixed  principles. 
Place  the  subject  more  erect,  that  we  may  see  the 
natural  movement  of  the  muscles.  Here  is  an  evi 
dence  of  great  aquatic  habits  in  the  dimensions  of 
the  foot,  which  go  to  confirm  original  conceptions 
It  is  a  happy  proof,  through  which,  reasonable  and 
prudent  conclusions  confirm  the  quick-sighted 
glances  of  practice.  I  pronounce  the  fellow  to  be 
a  Narragansett." 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  263 

"  Is  it  then  a  Narragansett  that  hath  a  foot  to 
confound  a  trail  T'  returned  Eben  Dudley,  who  had 
been  studying  the  movements  and  attitudes  of  the 
captive  with  quite  as  much  keenness,  and  with 
something  more  of  understanding,  than  the  leech. 
"  Brother  Ring,  hast  ever  known  an  Indian  leave 
such  an  out-turning  foot-print  on  the  leaves  ?" 

"  Ensign,  I  marvel  that  a  man  of  thy  discretion 
should  dwell  on  a  slight  variety  of  movement,  when 
a  case  exists  in  which  the  laws  of  nature  may  be 
traced  to  their  sources.  This  training  for  the  In 
dian  troubles  hath  made  thee  critical  in  the  position 
of  a  foot.  I  have  said  that  the  fellow  is  a  Narra 
gansett,  and  what  I  have  uttered  hath  not  been 
lightly  ventured.  Here  is  the  peculiar  formation 
of  the  foot,  which  hath  been  obtained  in  infancy,  a 
fullness  in  the  muscles  of  the  breast  and  shoulders, 
from  unusual  exercise  in  an  element  denser  than 
the  air,  and  a  nicer  construction  in " 

The  physician  paused,  for  Dudley  had  coolly  ad 
vanced  to  the  captive,  and,  raising  the  thin  robe 
of  deer-skin  which  was  thrown  over  the  whole  of 
his  superior  members,  he  exposed  the  unequivocal 
skin  of  a  white  man.  This  would  have  proved  an 
embarrassing  refutation  to  one  accustomed  to  the 
conflict  of  wits ;  but  monopoly,  in  certain  branches 
of  knowledge,  had  produced  in  favor  of  Doctor  Er 
got  an  acknowledged  superiority,  that,  in  its  effects, 
might  be  likened  to  the  predominating  influence  of 
any  other  aristocracy,  on  those  faculties  that  have 
been  benumbed  by  its  operation.  His  opinion 
changed,  which  is  more  than  can  be  said  of  his 
countenance,  for,  with  the  readiness  of  invention 
which  is  so  often  practised  in  the  felicitous  institu 
tions  we  have  named,  and  by  which  the  reasoning 
instead  of  regulating  is  adapted  to  the  practice,  he 
exclaimed  with  uplifted  hands  and  eyes  that  bespoke 
the  fullness  of  his  admiration — 


264  THE   WEPT 

"  Here  have  we  another  proof  of  the  wonderful 
agency  by  which  the  changes  in  nature  are  grad 
ually  wrought !  Now  do  we  see  in  this  JVarragan- 
sett " 

"  The  man  is  white !"  interrupted  Dudley,  tap 
ping  the  naked  shoulder,  which  he  still  held  exposed 
to  view. 

"  White,  hut  not  a  tittle  the  less  a  Narragansett. 
Your  captive,  beyond  a  doubt,  oweth  his  existence 
to  Christian  parentage,  but  accident  hath  thrown 
him  early  among  the  aboriginals,  and  all  those  parts, 
which  were  liable  to  change,  were  fast  getting  to 
assume  the  peculiarities  of  the  tribe.  He  is  one  of 
those  beautiful  and  connecting  links  in  the  chain  of 
knowledge,  by  which  science  followeth  up  its  de 
ductions  to  demonstration." 

"  I  should  ill  brook  coming  to  harm  for  doing  vio 
lence  to  a  subject  of  the  King,"  said  Reuben  Ring, 
a  steady,  open-faced  yeoman,  who  thought  far  less 
of  the  subtleties  of  his  companion,  than  of  discharg 
ing  his  social  duties  in  a  manner  fitting  the  charac 
ter  of  a  quiet  and  well-conditioned  citizen.  "  We 
have  had  so  much  of  stirring  tidings,  latterly,  con 
cerning  the  manner  the  savages  conduct  their  war 
fare,  that  it  behoveth  men  in  place  of  trust  to  be 
vigilant;  for,"  glancing  his  eyes  towards  the  ruin 
of  the  distant  block-house,  "  thou  knowest,  brother 
Dudley,  that  we  have  occasion  to  be  watchful,  in  a 
settlement  as  deep  in  the  forest  as  this." 

"  I  will  answer  for  the  indemnity,  Sergeant  Ring," 
said  Dudley,  with  an  air  of  dignity.  "  I  take  upon 
myself  the  keeping  of  this  stranger,  and  will  see 
that  he  be  borne,  properly  and  in  fitting  season,  be 
fore  the  authorities.  In  the  mean  time,  duty  hath 
caused  us  to  overlook  matters  of  moment  in  thy 
household,  which  it  may  be  seemly  to  communicate. 
Abundance  hath  not  been  neglectful  of  thy  interests, 
during  the  scout." 


OF    WISH-TOS-WISH.  265 

"What!"  demanded  the  husband,  with  rather 
more  of  earnestness  than  was  generally  exhibited 
by  one  of  habits  as  restrained  as  his  own ;  "  hath 
the  woman  called  upon  the  neighbors,  during  my 
absence?" 

Dudley  nodded  an  assent. 

"  And  shall  I  find  another  boy  beneath  my  roof?" 

Doctor  Ergot  nodded  three  times  with  a  gravity 
that  might  have  suited  a  communication  even  more 
weighty  than  the  one  he  made, 

"  Thy  woman  rarely  doth  a  good  turn  by  halves, 
Reuben.  Thou  wilt  find  that  she  hath  made  pro 
vision  for  a  successor  to  our  good  neighbor  Ergot, 
since  a  seventh  son  is  born  in  thy  house." 

The  broad,  honest  face  of  the  father  flushed  with 
joy,  and  then  a  feeling  less  selfish  came  over  him. 
He  asked,  with  a  slight  tremor  in  the  voice,  that 
was  none  the  less  touching  for  coming  from  the  lips 
of  one  so  stout  of  frame  and  firm  of  movement — 

"  And  the  woman  ? — in  what  manner  doth  Abun 
dance  bear  up  under  the  blessing  ?" 

"  Bravely,"  returned  the  leech;  "  go  to  thy  dwell 
ing,  Sergeant  Ring,  and  praise  God  that  there  is 
one  to  look  to  its  concerns,  in  thy  absence.  He 
who  hath  received  the  gift  of  seven  sons,  in  five 
years,  need  never  be  a  poor  nor  a  dependent  man, 
in  a  country  like  this.  Seven  farms,  added  to  that 
pretty  homestead  of  mountain-land  which  thou 
now  tillest,  will  render  thee  a  patriarch  in  thine 
age,  and  sustain  the  name  of  Ring,  hundreds  of 
years  hence,  when  these  colonies  shall  become  peo 
pled  and  powerful,  and,  I  say  it  boldly,  caring  not 
who  may  call  me  one  that  vaunteth  out  of  reason, 
equal  to  some  of  your  lofty  and  self-extolled  king 
doms  of  Europe  —ay,  even  peradventure  to  the 
mighty  sovereignty  of  Portugal,  itself!  I  have  enu 
merated  thy  future  farms  at  seven,  for  the  allusion 
of  the  Ensign  to  the  virtues  of  men  born  with  natu 
23 


266  THE   WEPT 

ral  propensities  to  the  healing  art,  must  be  taken 
as  pleasant  speech,  since  it  is  a  mere  delusion  of  old 
wives'  fancy,  and  it  would  be  particularly  unneces 
sary,  here,  where  every  reasonable  situation  of  this 
nature  is  already  occupied.  Go  to  thy  wife,  Ser 
geant,  and  bid  her  be  of  good  cheer;  for  she  hath 
done  herself,  thee,  and  thy  country,  a  service,  and 
that  without  dabbling  in  pursuits  foreign  to  her 
comprehension." 

The  sturdy  yeoman,  on  whom  this  rich  gift  of 
Providence  had  been  dispensed,  raised  his  hat,  and 
placing  it  decently  before  his  face,  he  offered  up  a 
silent  thanksgiving  for  the  favor.  Then,  transferring 
his  captive  to  the  keeping  of  his  superior  and  kins 
man,  he  was  soon  seen  striding  over  the  fields  to 
wards  his  upland  dwelling,  with  a  heavy  foot,  though 
with  a  light  heart. 

In  the  mean  time,  Dudley  and  his  companion 
bestowed  a  more  particular  attention  on  the  silent 
and  nearly  motionless  object  of  their  curiosity. 
Though  the  captive  appeared  to  be  of  middle  age, 
his  eye  was  unmeaning,  his  air  timid  and  uncertain, 
and  his  form  cringing  and  ungainly.  In  all  these 
particulars,  he  was  seen  to  differ  from  the  known 
peculiarities  of  a  native  warrior. 

Previously  to  departing,  Reuben  Ring  had  ex 
plained,  that  while  traversing  the  woods,  on  that 
duty  of  watchfulness  to  which  the  state  of  the  colony 
and  some  recent  signs  had  given  rise,  this  wandering 
person  had  been  encountered  and  secured,  as  seemed 
necessary  to  the  safety  of  the  settlement.  He  had 
neither  sought  nor  avoided  his  captor;  but  when 
questioned  concerning  his  tribe,  his  motive  for  trav 
ersing  those  hills,  and  his  future  intentions,  no  satis 
factory  reply  could  be  extracted.  He  had  scarcely 
spoken,  and  the  little  that  he  said  was  uttered  in  a 
jargon  between  the  language  of  his  interrogator 
and  the  dialect  of  some  barbarous  nation.  Thoush 


OP   WISH-TON-WISH.  267 

Jiere  was  much  in  the  actual  state  of  the  colonies, 
and  in  the  circumstances  in  which  this  wanderer 
had  been  found,  to  justify  his  detention,  little  had  in 
truth  been  discovered,  to  supply  a  clue  either  to  any 
material  facts  in  his  history,  or  to  any  of  his  views 
in  being  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  valley. 

Guided  only  by  this  barren  information,  Dudley 
and  his  companion  endeavored,  as  they  moved  to 
wards  the  hamlet,  to  entrap  their  prisoner  into  some 
confession  of  his  object,  by  putting  their  questions 
with  a  sagacity  not  unusual  to  men  in  remote  and 
difficult  situations,  where  necessity  and  danger  are 
apt  to  keep  alive  all  the  native  energies  of  the  hu 
man  mind.  The  answers  were  little  connected  and 
unintelligible,  sometimes  seeming  to  exhibit  the 
finest  subtlety  of  savage  cunning,  and  at  others  to 
possess  the  mental  helplessness  of  appearing  the 
most  abject  fatuity. 


CHAPTEE  XIX. 

"  I  am  not  prone  to  weeping,  as  our  sex 
Commonly  are ; — 

But  I  have 

That  honorable  grief  lodged  here,  which  burns 
Worse  than  tears  drown." 

WINTER'S  TALE. 

IF  the  pen  of  a  compiler,  like  that  we  wield,  pos 
sessed  the  mechanical  power  of  the  stage,  it  would 
be  easy  to  shift  the  scenes  of  this  legend  as  rapidly 
and  effectively  as  is  required  for  its  right  under 
standing,  and  for  the  proper  maintenance  of  its 
interest.  That  which  cannot  be  done  with  the  magi 
cal  aid  of  machinery,  must  be  attempted  by  less 
ambitious,  and  we  fear  by  far  less  efficacious  means. 


2G8  THE    WEPT 

At  the  same  early  hour  of  the  day,  and  at  no 
great  distance  from  the  spot  where  Dudley  announc 
ed  his  good  fortune  to  his  brother  Ring,  another 
morning  meeting  had  place,  between  persons  of  the 
same  blood  and  connexions.  From  the  instant  when 
the  pale  light,  that  precedes  the  day,  was  first  seen 
in  the  heavens,  the  windows  and  doors  of  the  con 
siderable  dwelling,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley, 
had  been  unbarred.  Ere  the  glow  of  the  sun  had 
gilded  the  sky  over  the  outline  of  the  eastern  woods, 
this  example  of  industry  and  providence  was  follow 
ed  by  the  inmates  of  every  house  in  the  village,  or 
on  the  surrounding  hills ;  and,  by  the  time  the  golden 
globe  itself  was  visible  above  the  trees,  there  was 
not  a  human  being  in  all  that  settlement,  of  proper 
age  and  health,  who  was  not  actively  afoot. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  dwelling  particu 
larly  named  was  the  present  habitation  of  the  house 
hold  of  Mark  Heathcote.  Though  age  had  sapped 
the  foundations  of  his  strength,  and  had  nearly  dried 
the  channels  of  his  existence,  the  venerable  religi 
onist  still  lived.  While  his  physical  perfection  had 
been  gradually  giving  way  before  the  ordinary 
decay  of  nature,  the  moral  man  was  but  little  alter 
ed.  It  is  even  probable  that  his  visions  of  futurity 
were  less  dimmed  by  the  mists  of  carnal  interests 
than  when  last  seen,  and  that  the  spirit  had  gained 
some  portion  of  that  energy  which  had  certainly 
been  abstracted  from  the  more  corporeal  parts  of 
his  existence.  At  the  hour  already  named,  the 
Puritan  was  seated  in  the  piazza,  which  stretched 
along  the  whole  front  of  a  dwelling,  that,  however 
it  might  be  deficient  in  architectural  proportions, 
was  not  wanting  in  the  more  substantial  comforts 
of  a  spacious  and  commodious  frontier  residence. 
In  order  to  obtain  a  faithful  portrait  of  a  man  so 
intimately  connected  with  our  tale,  the  reader  will 
fancy  him  one  who  had  numbered  four-score  and 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  269 

ten  years,  with  a  visage  on  which  deep  and  constant 
mental  striving  had  wrought  many  and  menacing 
furrows,  a  form  that  trembled  while  it  yet  exhibited 
the  ruins  of  powerful  limb  and  flexible  muscle,  and 
a  countenance  in  which  ascetic  reflections  had  en 
graved  a  severity,  that  was  but  faintly  relieved 
by  the  gleamings  of  a  natural  kindness,  which  no 
acquired  habits,  nor  any  traces  of  metaphysical 
thought,  could  ever  entirely  erase.  Across  this  pic 
ture  of  venerable  and  self-mortifying  age,  the  first 
rays  of  the  sun  were  now  softly  cast,  lighting  a 
dimmed  eye  and  furrowed  face  with  a  look  of 
brightness  and  peace.  Perhaps  the  blandness  of  the 
expression  belonged  as  much  to  the  season  and  hour, 
as  to  the  habitual  character  of  the  man.  This  be- 
nignancy  of  feature,  unusual  rather  in  its  strength 
than  in  its  existence,  might  have  been  heightened 
by  the  fact  that  his  spirit  had  just  wrought  in  pray 
er,  as  was  usual,  in  the  circle  of  his  children  and 
dependants,  ere  they  left  those  retired  parts  of  the 
building  where  they  had  found  rest  and  security 
during  the  night.  Of  the  former,  none  known  and 
cherished  in  the  domestic  circle  had  been  absent ; 
and  the  ample  provision  that  was  making  for  the 
morning  meal,  sufficiently  showed  that  the  number 
of  the  latter  had  in  no  degree  diminished  since  the 
reader  was  familiar  with  the  domestic  economy  of 
his  household. 

Time  had  produced  no  very  striking  alteration 
in  the  appearance  of  Content.  It  is  true  that  the 
brown  hue  of  his  features  had  deepened,  and  that 
his  frame  was  beginning  to  lose  some  of  its  elasticity 
and  ease  of  action,  in  the  more  measured  movements 
of  middle  age.  But  the  governed  temperament  of 
the  individual  had  always  kept  the  animal  in  more 
than  usual  subjection.  Even  his  earlier  days  had 
rather  exhibited  the  promise  than  the  performance 
of  the  ordinary  youthful  qualities.  Mental  gravity 
23* 


270  THE    WF.PT 

hnd  long  before  produced  a  corresponding  physical 
effect.  In  reference  to  his  exterior,  and  using  the 
language  of  the  painter,  it  would  now  be  said,  that, 
without  having  wrought  any  change  in  form  and 
proportions,  the  colors  had  been  mellowed  by  time. 
If  a  few  hairs  of  gray  were  sprinkled,  here  and 
there,  around  his  brow,  it  was  as  moss  gathers  on 
the  stones  of  the  edifice,  rather  furnishing  evidence 
of  its  increased  adhesion  and  approved  stability, 
than  denoting  any  symptoms  of  decay. 

Not  so  with  his  gentle  and  devoted  partner 
That  softness  and  sweetness  of  air  which  had  first 
touched  the  heart  of  Content  was  still  to  be  seen, 
though  it  existed  amid  the  traces  of  a  constant 
and  a  corroding  grief.  The  freshness  of  youth  had 
departed,  and  in  its  place  was  visible  the  more  last 
ing,  and,  in  her  case,  the  more  affecting  beauty  of 
expression.  The  eye  of  Ruth  had  lost  none  of  its 
gentleness,  and  her  smile  still  continued  kind  and 
attractive;  but  the  former  was  often  painfully  vacant, 
seeming  to  look  inward  upon  those  secret  and  with 
ering  sources  of  sorrow  that  were  deeply  and  almost 
mysteriously  seated  in  her  heart ;  while  the  latter 
resembled  the  cold  brightness  of  that  planet,  which 
illumines  objects  by  repelling  the  borrowed  lustre 
from  its  own  bosom.  The  matronly  form,  the  fem 
inine  beaming  of  the  countenance,  and  the  melodious 
voice,  yet  remained ;  but  the  first  had  been  shaken 
till  it  stood  on  the  very  verge  of  a  premature  decay, 
the  second  had  a  mingling  of  anxious  care  in  its 
most  sympathetic  movements,  and  the  last  was 
seldom  without  that  fearful  thrill  which  so  deeply 
affects  the  senses,  by  conveying  to  the  understanding 
a  meaning  so  foreign  from  the  words.  And  yet  an 
uninterested  and  ordinary  observer  might  not  have 
seen,  in  the  faded  comeliness  and  blighted  maturity 
of  the  matron,  more  than  the  every-day  signs  that 
betray  the  turn  in  the  tide  of  human  existence. 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  271 

As  befitted  such  a  subject,  the  coloring  of  sorrow 
had  been  traced  by  a  hand  too  delicate  to  leave  the 
Sines  visible  to  every  vulgar  eye.  Like  the  master- 
touches  of  art,  her  grief,  as  it  was  beyond  the  sym 
pathies,  so  it  lay  beyond  the  ken  of  those  whom 
excellence  may  fail  to  excite,  or  in  whom  absence 
can  deaden  affections.  Still  her  feelings  were  true 
to  all  who  had  any  claims  on  her  love.  The  pre 
dominance  of  wasting  grief  over  the  more  genial 
springs  of  her  enjoyments,  only  went  to  prove  how 
much  greater  is  the  influence  of  the  generous  than 
the  selfish  qualities  of  our  nature,  in  a  heart  that 
is  truly  endowed  with  tenderness.  It  is  scarce  neces 
sary  to  say,  that  this  gentle  and  constant  woman 
sorrowed  for  her  child. 

Had  Ruth  Heathcote  known  that  the  girl  ceased 
to  live,  it  would  not  have  been  difficult  for  one  of 
her  faith  to  have  deposited  her  regrets  by  the  side 
of  hopes  that  were  so  justifiable,  in  the  grave  of  the 
innocent.  But  the  living  death  to  which  her  oft- 
spring  might  be  condemned,  was  rarely  absent  from 
her  thoughts.  She  listened  to  the  maxims  of  resigna 
tion,  which  were  Theard  flowing  from  lips  she  loved, 
with  the  fondness  of  a  woman  and  the  meekness  of 
a  Christian ;  and  then,  even  while  the  holy  lessons 
were  still  sounding  in  her  attentive  organs,  the 
workings  of  an  unconquerable  nature  led  her  in 
sidiously  back  to  the  sorrow  of  a  mother. 

The  imagination  of  this  devoted  and  feminine 
being  had  never  possessed  an  -undue  control  over  her 
reason.  Her  visions  of  happiness  with  the  mao 
whom  her  judgment  not  less  than  her  inclination 
approved,  had  been  such  as  experience  and  religion 
might  justify.  But  she  was  now  fated  to  learn  there 
Is  a  fearful  poetry  in  sorrow,  which  can  sketch  with 
a  grace  and  an  imaginative  power  that  no  feebler 
efforts  of  a  heated  fancy  may  ever  equal.  She 
iteard  the  sweet  breathing  of  her  slumbering  infant 


272  THE   WEPT 

in  the  whispering  of  the  summer  airs;  its  plaints 
came  to  her  ears  amid  the  howlings  of  the  gale; 
while  the  eager  question  and  fond  reply  were  mixed 
up  with  the  most  ordinary  intercourse  of  her  own 
household.  To  her  the  laugh  of  childish  happiness 
that  often  came  on  the  still  air  of  evening  from  the 
hamlet,  sounded  like  the  voice  of  mourning ;  and 
scarce  an  infantile  sport  met  her  eye,  that  did  not 
bring  with  it  a  pang  of  anguish.  Twice,  since  the 
events  of  the  inroad,  had  she  been  a  mother;  and,, 
as  if  an  eternal  blight  were  doomed  to  destroy  her 
hopes,  the  little  creatures  to  whom  she  had  given 
birth,  slept,  side  by  side^.  near  the  base  of  the  ruined 
block.  Thither  she  often  went,  but  it  was  rather  to- 
be  the  victim  of  those  cruel  images  of  her  fancy, 
than  as  a  mourner.  Her  visions  of  the  dead  were 
calm  and  even  consolatory,  but  if  ever  her  thoughts- 
mounted  to  the  abodes  of  eternal  peace,  and  her 
feeble  fancy  essayed  to  embody  the  forms  of  the 
blessed,  her  mental  eye  sought  her  who  was  notr 
rather  than  those  who  were  believed  to  be  secure 
in  their  felicity.  Wasting  and  delusory  as  were 
these  glimpses  of  the  mind,  there  were  others  far 
more  harrowing,  because  they  presented  themselves 
with  more  of  the  coarse  and  certain  features  of 
the  world.  It  was  the  common,  and  perhaps  it  was 
the  better,  opinion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley,, 
that  death  had  early  sealed  the  fate  ©f  those  who- 
had  fallen  into  the  hands-  of  the-  savages  on  the 
occasion  of  the  inroad.  Such  a  result  was  in  con 
formity  with  the  known  practices  and  ruthless  pas 
sions  of  the  conquerors,  who  seldom  spared  life* 
unless  to  render  revenge  more  cruelly  refined,  or 
to  bring  consolation  to  some  bereaved  mother  of  the 
tribe,  by  offering  a  substitute  for  the  dead  in  the 
person  of  a  captive.  There  was-  relief,  to  picture 
the  face  of  the  laughing  cherub  In  the  clouds,  or  to 
listen  to  its  light  footstep  in  the  empty  halls  of  the 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  273 

dwelling ;  for  in  these  illusive  images  of  the  brain, 
suffering  was  confined  to  her  own  bosom.  But  when 
stern  reality  usurped  the  place  of  fancy,  and  she 
saw  her  living  daughter  shivering  in  the  wintry 
blasts  or  sinking  beneath  the  fierce  heats  of  tho 
climate,  cheerless  in  the  desolation  of  female  servi 
tude,  and  suffering  meekly  the  lot  of  physical  weak 
ness  beneath  a  savage  master,  she  endured  that  an 
guish  which  was  gradually  exhausting  the  springs 
of  life. 

Though  the  father  was  not  altogether  exempt 
from  similar  sorrow,  it  beset  him  less  ceaselessly. 
He  knew  how  to  struggle  with  the  workings  of  his 
mind,  as  best  became  a  man.  Though  strongly  im 
pressed  with  the  belief  that  the  captives  had  early 
been  put  beyond  the  reach  of  suffering,  he  had 
neglected  no  duty,  which  tenderness  to  his  sorrow 
ing  partner,  parental  love,  or  Christian  duty,  could 
require  at  his  hands. 

The  Indians  had  retired  on  the  crust  of  the  snow, 
and  with  the  thaw  every  foot-print,  or  sign,  by 
which  such  wary  foes  might  be  traced,  had  vanish 
ed.  It  remained  matter  of  doubt  to  what  tribe  or 
even  to  what  nation,  the  marauders  belonged.  The 
peace  of  the  colony  had  not  yet  been  openly 
broken,  and  the  inroad  had  been  rather  a  violent 
and  fierce  symptom  of  the  evils  that  were  contem 
plated,  than  the  actual  commencement  of  the  ruth 
less  hostilities  which  had  since  ravaged  the  frontier. 
But  while  policy  had  kept  the  colonists  quiet,  pri 
vate  affection  omitted  no  rational  means  of  effect 
ing  the  restoration  of  the  sufferers,  in  the  event  oi 
their  having  been  spared. 

Scouts  had  passed  among  the  conspiring  and  but 
half-peaceable  tribes,  nearest  to  the  settlement, 
and  rewards  and  menaces  had  both  been  liberally 
used,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  character  of  the 
savages  who  had  laid  waste  the  valley,  as  well  as 


274  THE    WEPT 

the  more  interesting  fortunes  of  their  hapless  vic 
tims.  Every  expedient  to  detect  the  truth  had  fail 
ed.  The  Narragansetts  affirmed  that  their  constant 
enemies  the  Mohicans,  acting  with  their  customary 
treachery,  had  plundered  their  English  friends' 
while  the  Mohicans  vehemently  threw  back  the 
imputation  on  the  Narragansetts.  At  other  times, 
some  Indians  affected  to  make  dark  allusions  to  the 
hostile  feelings  of  fierce  warriors,  who,  under  the 
name  of  the  Five  Nations,  were  known  to  reside 
within  the  limits  of  the  Dutch  colony  of  New-Neth 
erlands,  and  to  dwell  upon  the  jealousy  of 'the  Pale 
faces  who  spoke  a  language  different  from  that  of 
the  Yengeese.  In  short,  inquiry  had  produced  no 
result ;  and  Content,  when  he  did  permit  his  fancy 
to  represent  his  daughter  as  still  living,  was  forced 
to  admit  to  himself  the  probability  that  she  might 
be  buried  far  in  the  ocean  of  wilderness  which  then 
covered  most  of  the  surface  of  this  continent. 

Once,  indeed,  a  rumor  of  an  exciting  nature  had 
reached  the  family.  An  itinerant  trader,  bound 
from  the  wilds  of  the  interior  to  a  mart  on  the  sea 
shore,  had  entered  the  valley.  He  brought  with 
him  a  report,  that  a  child,  answering  in  some  re* 
spects  to  the  appearance  which  might  now  be  sup 
posed  to  belong  to  her  who  was  lost,  was  living 
among  the  savages,  on  the  banks  of  the  smaller 
lakes  of  the  adjoining  colony.  The  distance  to  this 
spot  was  great;  the  path  led  through  a  thousand 
dangers,  and  the  result  was  far  from  certain.  Yet 
it  quickened  hopes  which  had  long  been  dormant. 
Ruth  never  urged  any  request  that  might  involve 
serious  hazard  to  her  husband,  and  for  many 
months  the  latter  had  even  ceased  to  speak  on  the 
subject.  Still,  nature  was  working  powerfully  with 
in  him.  His  eyes,  at  all  times  reflecting  and  calm, 
grew  more  thoughtful;  deeper  lines  of  care  gathered 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  .  275 

about  his  brow;  and  at  length,  melancholy  took 
possession  of  a  countenance  which  was  usually  so 
placid. 

It  was  at  this  precise  period,  that  Eben  Dudley 
chose  to  urge  the  suit,  he  had  always  pressed  after 
his  own  desultory  fashion,  on  the  decision  of  Faith. 
One  of  those  well-ordered  accidents,  which,  from 
time  to  time,  had  brought  the  girl  and  the  young 
borderer  in  private  conversation,  enabled  him  to 
effect  his  design  with  sufficient  clearness.  Faith 
heard  him  without  betraying  any  of  her  ordinary 
waywardness,  and  answered  with  as  little  prevarica 
tion  as  the  subject  seemed  to  demand. 

"  This  is  well,  Eben  Dudley,"  she  said,  "  and  it  is 
no  more  than  an  honest  girl  hath  a  right  to  hear, 
from  one  who  hath  taken  as  many  means  as  thou 
to  get  into  her  favor.  But  he  who  would  have  his 
life  tormented  by  me,  hath  a  solemn  duty  to  do,  ere 
I  listen  to  his  wishes." 

"  I  have  been  in  the  lower  towns  and  studied 
their  manner  of  life,  and  I  have  been  upon  the 
scouts  of  the  colony,  to  keep  the  Indians  in  their 
wigwams,"  returned  her  suitor,  endeavoring  to  re 
count  the  feats  of  manliness  that  might  reasonably 
be  expected  of  one  inclined  to  venture  on  so  haz 
ardous  an  experiment  as  matrimony.  "  The  bargain 
with  the  young  Captain  for  the  hill-lot,  and  for  a 
village  homestead,  is  drawing  near  a  close:  and  as 
the  neighbors  will  not  be  backward  at  the  stone- 
bee,  or  the  raising,  I  see  nothing  to " 

"  Thou  deceivest  thyself,  observant  Dudley,"  in 
terrupted  the  girl,  "  if  thou  believest  eye  of  thine 
can  see  that  which  is  to  be  sought,  ere  one  and  the 
same  fortune  shall  be  the  property  of  thee  and  me. 
Hast  noted,  Eben,  the  manner  in  which  the  cheek 
of  the  Madam  hath  paled,  and  how  her  eye  is  get 
ting  sunken,  since  the  time  when  the  fur  trader 
tarried  with  us,  the  week  of  the  storm  ?" 


276  THE    WEFT 

"  I  cannot  say  that  there  is  much  change  in  the 
wearing  of  the  Madam,  within  the  bearing  of  my 
memory,"  answered  Dudley,  who  was  never  re 
markable  for  minute  observations  of  this  nature, 
however  keen  he  might  prove  in  subjects  more  in 
timately  connected  with  his  daily  pursuits.  "  She  is 
not  young  and  blooming  as  thou,  Faith,  nor  is  it 
often  that  we  see " 

"  I  tell  thee,  man,  that  sorrow  preyeth  upon  her 
form,  and  that  she  liveth  but  in  the  memory  of  the 
lost  infant  I" 

"This  is  carrying  mourning  beyond  the  bounds 
of  reason.  The  child  is  at  peace ;  as  is  thy  brother. 
Whittal,  beyond  all  manner  of  question.  That  we 
have  not  discovered  their  bones,  is  owing  to  the  fire, 
which  left  but  little  to  tell  of " 

"  Thy  head  is  a  charnel-house,  dull  Dudley,  but 
this  picture  of  its  furniture  shall  not  suffice  for  me. 
The  man  who  is  to  be  my  husband  must  have  a  feel 
ing  for  a  mother's  sorrows  !" 

"What  is  now  getting  uppermost  in  thy  mind, 
Faith !  Is  it  for  me  to  bring  back  the  dead  to  life, 
or  to  place  a  child  that  hath  been  lost  so  many  years 
once  more  in  the  arms  of  its  parents  V9 

"  It  is. — Nay,  open  not  thine  eyes,  as  if  light  were 
first  breaking  into  the  darkness  of  a  clouded  brain  I 
I  repeat,  it  is  !" 

"  I  am  glad  that  we  have  got  to  these  open  de 
clarations,  for  too  much  of  my  life  hath  been  already 
wasted  in  unsettled  gallanting,  when  sound  wisdom, 
and  the  example  of  all  around  me,  have  shown 
that  in  order  to  become  the  father  of  a  family,  and 
to  be  esteemed  for  a  substantial  settler,  I  should 
have  both  cleared  and  wived  some  years  ago.  I 
wish  to  deal  justly  by  all,  and  having  given  thee 
reason  to  think  that  the  day  might  come  when  we 
should  live  together,  as  is  fitting  to  people  of  our 
condition,  I  felt  it  a  duty  to  ask  thee  to  share  my 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  277 

chances ;  but  now  that  thou  dealest  in  impossibili 
ties,  it  is  needful  to  seek  elsewhere." 

"  This  hath  ever  been  thy  way,  when  a  good  un 
derstanding  hath  been  established  between  us.  Thy 
mind  is  ever  getting  into  some  discontent,  and  then 
blame  is  heaped  on  one  who  rarely  doth  anything 
that  should  in  reason  offend  thee.  What  madness 
maketh  thee  dream  that  I  ask  impossibilities  1  Sure 
ly,  Dudley,  thou  canst  not  have  noted  the  manner 
in  which  the  nature  of  the  Madam  is  giving  way 
before  the  consuming  heat  of  her  grief;  thou  canst 
not  look  into  the  sorrow  of  woman,  or  thou  wouldst 
have  listened  with  more  kindness  to  a  plan  of  trav 
elling  the  woods  for  a  short  season,  in  order  that  it 
might  be  known  whether  she  of  whom  the  tradei 
spoke  is  the  lost  one  of  our  family,  or  the  child  of 
some  stranger !" 

Though  Faith  spoke  with  vexation,  she  also  spoke 
with  feeling.  Her  dark  eye  swam  in  tears,  and  the 
color  of  her  brown  cheek  deepened,  until  her  com 
panion  saw  new  reasons  to  forget  his  discontent  in 
sympathies,  which,  however  obtuse  they  might  be, 
were  never  entirely  dormant. 

"  If  a  journey  of  a  few  hundred  miles  be  all  thou 
askest,  girl,  why  speak  in  parables?"  he  good-na 
turedly  replied.  "  The  kind  word  was  not  wanting 
to  put  me  on  such  a  trial.  We  will  be  married  on 
the  Sabbath,  and,  please  Heaven,  the  Wednesday, 
or  the  Saturday  at  most,  shall  see  me  on  the  path 
of  the  western  trader." 

"  No  delay.  Thou  must  depart  with  the  sun.  The 
more  active  thou  provest  on  the  journey  the  sooner 
wilt  thou  have  the  power  to  make  me  repent  a 
foolish  deed." 

But  Faith  had  been  persuaded  to  relax  a  little 
from  this  severity  They  were  married  on  the  Sab 
bath,  and  the  following  day  Content  and  Dudley 
left  the  valley,  in  quest  of  the  distant  tribe  on  which 
24 


278  THE    WEPT 

the  scion  of  another  stock  was  said  to  have  been  so 
violently  engrafted. 

It  is  needless  to  dwell  on  the  dangers  and  priva 
tions  of  such  an  expedition.  The  Hudson,  the  Dela 
ware,  and  the  Susquehannah,  rivers  that  were  then 
better  known  in  tales  than  to  the  inhabitants  of 
New-England,  were  all  crossed ;  and  after  a  painful 
and  hazardous  journey,  the  adventurers  reached 
the  first  of  that  collection  of  small  interior  lakes, 
whose  banks  are  now  so  beautifully  decorated  with 
villages  and  farms.  Here,  in  the  bosom  of  savage 
tribes,  and  exposed  to  every  danger  of  field  and 
flood,  supported  only  by  his  hopes,  and  by  the  pres 
ence  of  a  stout  companion  that  hardships  or  danger 
could  not  easily  subdue,  the  father  diligently  sought 
his  child. 

At  length  a  people  were  found,  who  held  a  cap 
tive  that  answered  the  description  of  the  trader. 
We  shall  not  dwell  on  the  feelings  with  which  Con 
tent  approached  the  village  that  contained  this  lit 
tle  descendant  of  a  white  race.  He  had  not  con 
cealed  his  errand ;  and  the  sacred  character,  in 
which  he  came,  found  pity  and  respect  even  among 
those  barbarous  tenants  of  the  wilderness.  A  depu 
tation  of  the  chiefs  received  him  in  the  skirts  of 
their  clearing.  He  was  conducted  to  a  wigwam, 
where  a  council-fire  was  lighted,  and  an  interpreter 
opened  the  subject,  by  placing  the  amount  of  the 
ransom  offered,  and  the  professions  of  peace  with 
which  the  strangers  came,  in  the  fairest  light  before 
his  auditors.  It  is  not  usual  for  the  American  sav 
age  to  loosen  his  hold  easily,  on  one  naturalized  in 
his  tribe.  But  the  meek  air  and  noble  confidence 
of  Content  touched  the  latent  qualities  of  those 
generous  though  fierce  children  of  the  wocds.  The 
girl  was  sent  for,  that  she  might  stand  in  the  pres 
ence  of  the  elders  of  the  nation. 

No  language  can  paint  the  sensation  with  whicl 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  279 

Content  first  looked  upon  this  adopted  daughter  of 
the  savages.  The  years  and  sex  were  in  accordance 
with  his  wishes ;  but,  in  place  of  the  golden  hair 
and  azure  eyes  of  the  cherub  he  had  lost,  there  ap 
peared  a  girl  in  whose  jet-black  tresses  and  equally 
dark  organs  of  sight,  he  might  better  trace  a  de 
scendant  of  the  French  of  the  Canadas,  than  one 
sprung  from  his  own  Saxon  lineage.  The  father 
was  not  quick  of  mind  in  the  ordinary  occupations 
of  life,  but  nature  was  now  big  within  him.  There 
needed  no  second  glance,  to  say  how  cruelly  his 
hopes  had  been  deceived.  A  smothered  groan  strug 
gled  from  his  chest,  and  then  his  self-command  re 
turned  with  the  imposing  grandeur  of  Christian  re 
signation.  He  arose,  and,  thanking  the  chiefs  for 
their  indulgence,  he  made  no  secret  of  the  mistake 
by  which  he  had  been  led  so  far  on  a  fruitless  er 
rand.  While  speaking,  the  signs  and  gestures  of 
Dudley  gave  him  reason  to  believe,  that  his  compan 
ion  had  something  of  importance  to  communicate. 
In  a  private  interview,  the  latter  suggested  the  ex 
pediency  of  concealing  the  truth,  and  of  rescuing 
the  child  they  had  in  fact  discovered  from  the  hands 
of  her  barbarous  masters.  It  was  now  too  late  to 
practise  a  deception  that  might  have  availed  for  this 
object,  had  the  stern  principles  of  Content  permitted 
the  artifice.  But,  transferring  some  portion  of  the 
interest  which  he  felt  for  the  fortunes  of  his  own 
offspring,  to  that  of  the  unknown  parent,  who,  like 
himself,  most  probably  mourned  the  uncertain  fate 
of  the  girl  before  him,  he  tendered  the  ransom  in 
tended  for  Ruth,  in  behalf  of  the  captive.  It  was 
rejected.  Disappointed  in  both  their  objects,  the 
adventurers  were  obliged  to  quit  the  village,  with 
weary  feet  and  still  heavier  hearts. 

If  any  who  read  these  pages  have  ever  felt  the 
agony  of  suspense  in  a  matter  involving  the  best  of 
human  affections,  they  will  know  how  to  appreciate 


280  THE    WEPT 

the  sufferings  of  the  mother,  during  the  month  that 
her  husband  was  absent  on  this  holy  errand.  At 
times,  hope  brightened  around  her  heart,  until  the 
glow  of  pleasure  was  again  mantling  on  her  cheek 
and  playing  in  her  eye.  The  first  week  of  the  ad 
venture  was  one  almost  of  happiness.  The  hazards 
of  the  journey  were  nearly  forgotten  in  its  antici 
pated  results,  and  though  occasional  apprehensions 
quickened  the  pulses  of  one  whose  system  answered 
so  fearfully  to  the  movements  of  the  spirit,  there 
was  a  predominance  of  hope  in  all  her  anticipations. 
She  again  passed  among  her  maidens  with  a  mien 
in  which  joy  was  struggling  with  the  meekness  of 
subdued  habits,  and  her  smiles  once  more  began  to 
beam  with  renovated  happiness.  To  his  dying  day, 
old  Mark  Heathcote  never  forgot  the  sudden  sensa 
tion  that  was  created  by  the  soft  laugh  that  on  some 
unexpected  occasion  came  to  his  ear  from  the  lips 
of  his  son's  wife.  Though  years  had  elapsed  be 
tween  the  moment  when  that  unwonted  sound  was 
heard,  and  the  time  at  which  the  action  of  the  tale 
now  stands,  he  had  never  heard  it  repeated.  To 
heighten  the  feelings  which  were  now  uppermost  in 
the  mind  of  Ruth,  when  within  a  day's  march  of 
the  village  to  which  he  was  going,  Content  had  found 
means  to  send  the  tidings  of  his  prospects  of  success. 
It  was  over  all  these  renewed  wishes  that  disappoint 
ment  was  to  throw  its  chill,  and  it  was  a-ffections 
thus  riveted  that  were  to  be  again  blighted  by  the 
crudest  of  all  withering  influences, — that  of  hope 
defeated. 

It  was  near  the  hour  of  the  setting  of  the  sun, 
when  Content  and  Dudley  reached  the  deserted 
clearing  on  their  return  to  the  valley.  Their  path 
led  through  this  opening  on  the  mountain-side,  and 
there  was  one  point,  among  the  bushes,  from  which 
the  buildings,  that  had  already  arisen  from  the  ashes 
of  the  burning,  might  be  distinctly  seen.  Until  now, 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  281 

the  husband  and  father  had  believed  himself  equal 
to  any  effort  that  duty  might  require,  in  the  pro 
gress  of  this  mournful  service.  But  here  he  paused, 
and  communicated  a  wish  to  his  companion  that  he 
would  go  ahead  and  break  the  nature  of  the  decep 
tion  that  had  led  them  so  far  on  a  fruitless  mission. 
Perhaps  Content  was  himself  ignorant  of  all  he 
wished,  or  to  what  unskilful  hands  he  had  confided 
a  commission  of  more  than  ordinary  delicacy.  He 
merely  felt  his  own  inability,  and,  with  a  weakness 
that  may  find  some  apology  in  his  feelings,  he  saw 
his  companion  depart,  without  instructions  or  in 
deed  without  any  other  guide  than  Nature 

Though  Faith  had  betrayed  no  marked  uneasi 
ness  during  the  absence  of  the  travellers,  her  quick 
eye  was  the  first  to  discover  the  form  of  her  hus 
band,  as  he  came  with  a  tired  step  across  the  fields, 
in  the  direction  of  the  dwellings.  Long  ere  Dudley 
reached  the  house,  every  one  of  its  inmates  had  as 
sembled  in  the  piazza.  This  was  no  meeting  of  tur 
bulent  delight,  or  of  clamorous  greetings.  The  ad 
venturer  drew  near  amid  a  silence  so  oppressive, 
that  it  utterly  disconcerted  a  studied  project,  by 
which  he  had  hoped  to  announce  his  tidings  in  a 
manner  suited  to  the  occasion.  His  hand  was  on 
the  gate  of  the  little  court,  and  still  none  spoke ;  his 
foot  was  on  the  low  step,  and  yet  no  voice  bade  him 
welcome.  The  looks  of  the  little  group  were  rather 
fixed  on  the  features  of  Ruth,  than  on  the  person  of 
him  who  approached.  Her  face  was  pallid  as  death, 
her  eye  contracted,  but  filled  with  the  mental  effort 
that  sustained  her ;  and  her  lip  scarce  trembled,  as, 
in  obedience  to  a  feeling  still  stronger  than  the  one 
which  had  so  long  oppressed  her,  she  exclaimed — 

"Eben  Dudley,  where  hast  thou  left  my  hus 
band?" 

"  The  young  Captain  was  a-foot  weary,  and  he 
tarried  in  the  second  growth  of  the  hill;  but  so 
24* 


282  THE    WEPT 

brave  a  walker  cannot  be  far  behind.  We  shall  see 
him  soon,  at  the  opening  by  the  dead  beech ;  and  it 
is  there  that  I  recommend  the  Madam " 

"It  was  thoughtful  in  Heathcote,  and  like  his 
usual  kindness,  to  devise  this  well-meant  caution !" 
said  Ruth,  across  whose  countenance  a  smile  so  ra 
diant  passed,  that  it  imparted  the  expression  which 
is  believed  to  characterize  the  peculiar  benignancy 
of  angels.  "  Still  it  was  unnecessary ;  for  he  should 
have  known  that  we  place  our  strength  on  the  Rock 
of  Ages.  Tell  me,  in  what  manner  hath  my  pre 
cious  one  borne  the  exceeding  weariness  of  thy 
tangled  route?" 

The  wandering  glance  of  the  messenger  had  gone 
from  face  to  face,  until  it  became  fastened  on  the 
countenance  of  his  own  wife,  in  a  settled,  unmeaning 
gaze. 

"  Nay,  Faith  hath  demeaned  well,  both  as  my 
assistant  and  as  thy  partner,  and  thou  mayest  see 
that  her  comeliness  is  in  no  degree  changed — And 
did  the  babe  falter  in  this  weary  passage,  or  did 
she  retard  thy  movements  by  her  fretfulness  ?  But 
[  know  thy  nature,  man ;  she  hath  been  borne  over 
many  long  miles  of  mountain-side  and  treacherous 
swamp,  in  thine  own  vigorous  arms.  Thou  answerest 
not,  Dudley !"  exclaimed  Ruth,  taking  the  alarm, 
and  laying  a  hand  firmly  on  the  shoulder  of  him 
she  questioned,  as,  forcing  his  half-averted  face  to 
meet  her  eye,  she  seemed  to  read  his  soul. 

The  muscles  of  the  sun-burnt  and  strong  features 
of  the  borderer  worked  involuntarily,  his  broad 
chest  swelled  to  its  utmost  expansion,  big  burning 
drops  rolled  out  upon  his  brown  cheeks,  and  then, 
taking  the  arm  of  Ruth  in  one  of  his  own  powerful 
hands,  he  compelled  her  to  release  her  hold,  with  a 
firm  but  respectful  exercise  of  his  strength ;  and, 
thrusting  the  form  of  his  own  wife,  without  cere- 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  283 

mony,   aside,   he   passed   through    the    circle,   and 
entered  the  dwelling,  with  the  tread  of  a  giant. 

The  head  of  Ruth  dropped  upon  her  bosom,  the 
paleness  again  came  over  her  cheeks,  and  it  was 
then  that  the  inward  look  of  the  eye  might  first  be 
seen,  which  afterwards  became  so  constant  and  so 
painful  an  expression  in  her  countenance.  From  that 
hour,  to  the  time  in  which  the  family  of  the  Wish- 
Ton-Wish  is  again  brought  immadiately  before  the 
reader,  no  further  rumors  were  ever  heard,  to  lessen 
or  increase  the  wasting  regrets  of  her  bosom. 


CHAPTEE  XX. 


"  Sir,  he  hath  never  fed  of  the  dainties  that  are  bred  in  a  book , 
he  hath  not  eaten  paper,  as  it  were ;  he  hath  not  drunk  ink :  his 
intellect  is  not  replenished;  he  is  only  an  animal — only  sensible  in 
the  duller  parts." 

LOVE'S  LABOR  LOST. 


"  HERE  cometh  Faith,  to  bring  us  tidings  of  the 
hamlet,"  said  the  husband  of  the  woman  whose 
character  we  have  so  feebly  sketched,  as  he  took 
his  seat  in  the  piazza,  at  the  early  hour  and  in 
the  group  already  mentioned.  "  The  Ensign  hath 
been  abroad  in  the  hills,  throughout  the  night,  with 
a  chosen  party  of  our  people;  and  perchance  she 
hath  been  sent  with  the  substance  that  they  have 
gathered,  concerning  the  unknown  trail." 

"  The  heavy-footed  Dudley  hath  scarce  mounted 
to  the  dividing  ridge,  where  report  goeth  the  prints 
of  moccasons  were  seen,"  observed  a  young  man,  who 
in  his  person  bore  all  the  evidences  of  an  active 
and  healthful  manhood.  "Of  what  service  is  the 


284  THE   WEPT 

scouting  that  faileth  of  the  necessary  distance,  by 
the  weariness  of  its  leader  ?" 

"If  thou  believest,  boy,  that  thy  young  foot  13 
equal  to  contend  with  the  sinews  of  Eben  Dudley, 
there  may  be  occasion  to  show  the  magnitude  of 
thy  error,  ere  the  danger  of  this  Indian  out-breaking 
shall  pass  away.  Thou  art  too  stubborn  of  will, 
Mark,  to  be  yet  trusted  with  the  leading  of  parties 
that  may  hold  the  safety  of  all  who  dwell  in  the 
Wish-Ton-Wish  within  their  keeping." 

The  young  man  looked  displeased;  but,  fearful 
that  his  father  might  observe  and  misinterpret  his 
humor  into  a  personal  disrespect,  he  turned  away, 
permitting  his  frowning  eye  to  rest,  for  an  instant, 
on  the  timid  and  stolen  glance  of  a  maiden,  whose 
cheek  was  glowing  like  the  eastern  sky,  as  she  busied 
herself  with  the  preparations  of  the  table. 

"  What  welcome  news  dost  bring  from  the  sign 
of  the  Whip-poor- Will?"  Content  asked  of  the 
woman,  who  had  now  come  within  the  little  gate 
of  his  court.  "  Hast  seen  the  Ensign,  since  the  party 
took  the  hill-paths ;  or  is  it  some  traveller  who  hath 
charged  thee  with  matter  for  our  ears  ?" 

"Eye  of  man  hath  not  seen  the  man  since  he 
girded  himself  with  the  sword  of  office,"  returned 
Faith,  entering  the  piazza  and  nodding  salutation 
to  those  around  her;  "and  as  for  strangers,  when 
the  clock  shall  strike  noon,  it  will  be  one  month  to 
the  day  that  the  last  of  them  was  housed  within 
my  doors.  But  I  complain  not  of  the  want  of  cus 
tom,  as  the  Ensign  would  never  quit  the  bar  and 
his  gossip,  to  go  into  the  mountain-lots,  so  long  as 
there  was  one  to  fill  his  ears  with  the  marvels  of 
the  old  countries,  or  even  to  discourse  of  the  home- 
stirrings  of  the  colonies  themselves." 

"  Thou  speakest  lightly,  Faith,  of  one  who  merits 
thy  respect  and  thy  duty." 

The  eye  of  the  former  studied  the  meek  counte- 


OF   W1SU-TON-WISH.  285 

nance  of  her  from  whom  this  reproof  came,  with 
an  intenseness  and  a  melancholy  that  showed  her 
thoughts  were  on  other  matters,  and  then,  as  if 
suddenly  recalled  to  what  had  passed,  she  resumed — 

"  Truly,  what  with  duty  to  the  man  as  a  husband, 
and  respect  to  him  as  an  officer  of  the  colony, 
Madam  Heathcote,  the  task  is  not  one  of  easy  bear 
ing.  If  the  King's  representative  had  given  the 
colors  to  my  brother  Reuben,  and  left  the  Dudley 
with  the  halberd  in  his  hand,  the  preferment  would 
have  been  ample  for  one  of  his  qualities,  and  all  the 
better  for  the  credit  of  the  settlement." 

"The  Governor  distributed  his  favor  according 
to  the  advice  of  men  competent  to  distinguish  merit," 
said  Content.  "  Eben  was  foremost  in  the  bloody 
affair  among  the  people  of  the  Plantations,  where 
his  manhood  was  of  good  example  to  all  in  company. 
Should  he  continue  as  faithful  and  as  valiant,  thou 
mayest  yet  live  to  seethyself  the  consortof  aCaptain!" 

"  Not  for  glory  gained  in  this  night's  marching, 
for  yonder  cometh  the  man  with  a  sound  body,  and 
seemingly  with  the  stomach  of  a  Caesar — ay,  and 
I'll  answer  for  it,  of  a  regiment  too  !  It  is  no  trifle 
that  will  satisfy  his  appetite,  after  one  of  these — 
ha  !  pray  Heaven  the  fellow  be  not  harmed — truly, 
he  hath  our  neighbor  Ergot  in  attendance." 

"  There  is  other  than  he  too,  for  one  cometh  in 
the  rear  whose  gait  and  air  are  unknown  to  me — 
the  trail  hath  been  struck,  and  Dudley  leadeth  a 
captive !  A  savage,  in  his  paint  and  cloak  of  skin, 
is  taken." 

This  assertion  caused  all  to  rise,  for  the  excite 
ment  of  an  apprehended  inroad  was  still  strong  in 
the  minds  of  those  secluded  people.  Not  a  syllable 
more  was  uttered,  until  the  scout  and  his  companion 
were  before  them. 

The  quick  glance  of  Faith  had  scanned  the  per 
son  of  her  husband,  and,  resuming  her  spirits  with 


286  THE    WEPT 

the  certainty  that  he  was  unharmed,  she  was  the 
first  to  greet  him  with  words: 

"How  now,  Ensign  Dudley,"  said  the  womar, 
quite  possibly  vexed  that  she  had  unguardedly  be 
trayed  a  greater  interest  in  his  welfare  than  she 
might  always  deem  prudent.  "How  now,  Ensign, 
hath  the  campaign  ended  with  no  better  trophy 
than  this  ]" 

"  The  fellow  is  not  a  chief,  nor,  by  his  step  and 
dull  look,  even  a  warrior;  but  he  was,  nevertheless, 
a  lurker  nigh  the  settlements,  and  it  was  thought 
prudent  to  bring  him  in ;"  returned  the  husband, 
addressing  himself  to  Content,  while  he  answered 
the  salutation  of  his  wife  with  a  sufficiently  brief 
nod.  "  My  own  scouting  hath  brought  nothing  to 
light,  but  my  brother  Ring  hath  fallen  on  the  trail 
of  him  that  is  here  present,  and  it  is  not  a  little  that 
we  are  puzzled  in  probing,  as  the  good  Doctor  Ergot 
calleth  it,  into  the  meaning  of  his  errand." 

"Of  what  tribe  may  the  savage  be?" 

"  There  hath  been  discussion  among  us,  on  that 
matter,"  returned  Dudley,  with  an  oblique  glance 
of  the  eye  towards  the  physician.  "  Some  have  said 
he  is  a  Narragansett,  while  others  think  he  cometh 
of  a  stock  still  further  east." 

"  In  giving  that  opinion,  I  spoke  merely  of  his 
secondary  or  acquired  habits,"  interrupted  Ergot ; 
"  for,  having  reference  to  his  original,  the  man  is 
assuredly  a  White." 

"  A  White  !"  repeated  all  around  him. 

"  Beyond  a  cavil ;  as  may  be  seen  by  divers  par 
ticulars  in  his  outward  conformation,  viz:  in  the 
shape  of  the  head,  the  muscles  of  the  arms  and  of 
the  legs,  the  air  and  gait,  besides  sundry  other  signs, 
that  are  familiar  to  men  who  have  made  the  physi 
cal  peculiarities  of  the  two  races  their  study." 

"  One  of  which  is  this!"  continued  Dudley,  throw 
ing  up  the  robe  of  the  captive,  and  giving  his  com- 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  < 

paniona  the  ocular  evidence  which  had  so  satisfac 
torily  removed  all  his  own  doubts.  "  Though  the 
color  of  the  skin  may  not  be  proof  positive,  like 
that  named  by  our  neighbor  Ergot,  it  is  still  some, 
thing,  in  helping  a  man  of  little  learning  to  make 
up  an  opinion  in  such  a  matter." 

"Madam!"  exclaimed  Faith  so  suddenly  as  to 
cause  her  she  addressed  to  start — "  for  the  sake  of 
Heaven's  mercy !  let  thy  maidens  bring  soap  and 
water,  that  the  face  of  this  man  may  be  cleansed  of 
its  paint." 

"  What  foolishness  is  thy  brain  set  upon?"  rejoined 
the  Ensign,  who  had  latterly  affected  some  of  that 
superior  gravity  which  might  be  supposed  to  belong 
to  his  official  station.  "  We  are  not  now  under  the 
roof  of  the  Whip-Poor- Will,  wife  of  mine,  but  in 
the  presence  of  those  who  need  none  of  thy  sugges 
tions  to  give  proper  forms  to  an  examination  of  office." 

Faith  heeded  no  reproof.  Instead  of  waiting  for 
others  to  perform  that  which  she  had  desired,  she 
applied  herself  to  the  task,  with  a  dexterity  that 
had  been  acquired  by  long  practice,  and  a  zeal  that 
seemed  awakened  by  some  extraordinary  emotion. 
In  a  minute,  the  colors  had  disappeared  from  the 
features  of  the  captive,  and,  though  deeply  tanned 
by  exposure  to  an  American  sun  and  to  sultry  winds, 
his  face  was  unequivocally  that  of  one  who  owed 
his  origin  to  an  European  ancestry.  The  movements 
of  the  eager  woman  were  watched  with  curious  in 
terest  by  all  present ;  and  when  the  short  task  was 
ended,  a  murmur  of  surprise  broke  simultaneously 
from  every  lip. 

'  There  is  meaning  in  this  masquerade,"  observed 
Content,  who  had  long  and  intently  studied  the  dull 
and  ungainly  countenance  that  was  exposed  to  his 
scrutiny  by  the  operation.  "  I  have  heard  of  Chris 
tian  men  who  have  sold  themselves  to  gain,  and 
who,  forgetting  religion  and  the  love  of  their  race- 


288  THE    WEPT 

have  been  known  to  league  with  the  savage  in  or 
der  to  pursue  rapine  in  the  settlements.  This  wretch 
hath  the  subtlety  of  one  of  the  French  of  the  Can- 
adas  in  his  eye." 

"  Away !  away  !"  cried  Faith,  forcing  herself  in 
front  of  the  speaker^  and,  by  placing  her  two  hands 
on  the  shaven  crown  of  the  prisoner,  forming  a  sort 
of  shade  to  his  features.  "Away  with  all  folly, 
about  the  Frenchers  and  wicked  leagues !  This  is 
no  plotting  miscreant,  but  a  stricken  innocent !  Whit- 
tal — my  brother  Whittal,  dost  know  me  ?" 

The  tears  rolled  down  the  cheeks  of  the  wayward 
woman,  as  she  gazed  into  the  face  of  her  witless 
relative,  whose  eye  lighted  with  one  of  its  occasional 
gleamings  of  intelligence,  and  who  indulged  in  a 
low,  vacant  laugh,  ere  he  answered  her  earnest  in 
terrogatory. 

"  Some  speak  like  men  from  over  sea,"  he  said, 
"  and  some  speak  like  men  of  the  woods.  Is  there 
such  a  thing  as  bear's  meat,  or  a  mouthful  of  hom- 
mony,  in  the  wigwam  1" 

Had  the  voice  of  one,  long  known  to  be  in  the 
grave,  broken  on  the  ears  of  the  family,  it  would 
scarcely  have  produced  a  deeper  sensation,  or  have 
quickened  the  blood  more  violently  about  their 
hearts,  than  this  sudden  and  utterly  unexpected  dis 
covery  of  the  character  of  their  captive.  Wonder 
and  awe  held  them  mute  for  a  time,  and  then  Ruth 
was  seen  standing  before  the  restored  wanderer 
her  hands  clasped  in  the  attitude  of  petition,  her 
eye  contracted  and  imploring,  and  her  whole  person 
expressive  of  the  suspense  and  excitement  which 
had  roused  her  long-latent  emotions  to  agony. 

"Tell  me,"  said  a  thrilling  voice,  that  might 
have  quickened  the  intellect  of  one  even  duller 
than  the  man  addressed,  '  as  thou  hast  pity  in  thy 
heart,  tell  me,  if  my  babe  yet  live  ?" 

"  'Tis  a  good  babe,"  returned  the  other ;  and  then 


OF   WISII-TON-WISH.  289 

laughing  again,  in  his  own  vacant  and  unmeaning 
manner,  he  bent  his  eyes  with  a  species  of  stupid 
wonder  on  Faith,  in  whose  appearance  there  was 
far  less  change,  than  in  the  speaking  but  wasted 
countenance  of  her  who  stood  immediately  before 
him. 

"  Give  leave,  dearest  Madam,"  interposed  the 
sister :  "  I  know  the  nature  of  the  boy,  and  could 
ever  do  more  with  him  than  any  other." 

But  this  request  was  useless.  The  system  of 
the  mother,  in  its  present  state  of  excitement,  was 
unequal  to  further  effort.  Sinking  into  the  watch 
ful  arms  of  Content,  she  was  borne  away,  and,  for  a 
minute,  the  anxious  interest  of  the  handmaidens 
left  none  but  the  men  on  the  piazza. 

"Whittal— my  old  playfellow,  Whittal  Ring;" 
said  the  son  of  Content,  advancing  with  a  humid 
eye  to  take  the  hand  of  the  prisoner.  "  Hast  for 
gotten,  man,  the  companion  of  thy  early  days  ?  It 
is  young  Mark  Heathcote  that  speaks." 

The  other  looked  up  into  his  countenance,  for  a 
moment,  with  a  reviving  recollection ;  but  shaking 
his  head,  he  drew  back  in  marked  displeasure,  mut 
tering  loud  enough  to  be  heard — 

"What  a  false  liar  is  a  Pale-face  !  Here  is  one 
of  the  tall  rogues,  wishing  to  pass  for  a  loping  boy !' 

What  more  he  uttered  his  auditors  never  knew, 
for  he  instantly  changed  his  language  to  some  dia 
lect  of  an  Indian  tribe. 

"The  mind  of  the  unhappy  youth  hath  even 
been  more  blunted,  by  exposure  and  the  usages  of 
a  savage  life,  than  by  Nature,"  said  Content,  who 
with  most  of  the  others  had  been  recalled,  by  his 
interest  in  the  examination,  to  the  scene  they  had 
momentarily  quitted.  "Let  the  sister  deal  tenderly 
with  the  lad,  and,  in  Heaven's  time,  shall  we  learn 
the  truth." 

The  deep  feeling  of  the  father  clothed  his  words 
25 


290  THE    WEPT 

with  authority.  The  eager  group  gave  place,  and 
something  like  the  solemnity  of  an  official  examina 
tion  succeeded  to  the  irregular  and  hurried  inter 
rogatories,  which  had  first  broken  on  the  dull  intel 
lect  of  the  recovered  wanderer. 

The  dependants  took  their  stations,  in  a  circle, 
around  the  chair  of  the  Puritan,  by  whose  side  was 
placed  Content,  while  Faith  induced  her  brother  to 
be  seated  on  the  step  of  the  piazza,  in  a  manner 
that  all  might  hear.  The  attention  of  the  brother, 
himself,  was  drawn  from  the  formality  of  the  ar 
rangement,  by  placing  food  in  his  hands. 

"  And  now,  Whittal,  I  would  know,"  commenced 
the  ready  woman,  when  a  deep  silence  denoted  the 
attention  of  the  auditors,  "  I  would  know,  if  thou 
rememberest  the  day  I  clad  thee  in  garments  of 
boughten  cloth,  from  over  sea ;  and  how  fond  thou 
wast  of  being  seen  among  the  kine  in  colors  so  gay?" 

The  young  man  looked  up  in  her  face,  as  if  the 
tones  of  her  voice  gave  him  pleasure ;  but,  instead 
of  making  any  reply,  he  preferred  to  munch  the 
bread  with  which  she  had  endeavored  to  lure  him 
back  to  their  ancient  confidence. 

"  Surely,  boy,  thou  canst  not  so  soon  have  forgot 
ten  the  gift  I  bought,  with  the  hard  earnings  of  a 
wheel  that  turned  at  night  The  tail  of  yon  pea 
cock  is  not  finer  than  thou  then  wast — But  I  will 
make  thee  such  another  garment,  that  thou  mayst 
go  with  the  trainers  to  their  weekly  muster." 

The  youth  dropped  the  robe  of  skin  that  covered 
the  upper  part  of  his  body,  and  making  a  forward 
gesture,  with  the  gravity  of  an  Indian,  he  answer 
ed — 

"Whittal  is  a  warmer  on  his  path;  he  has  no 
time  for  the  talk  of  the  women  !" 

"Now,  brother,  thou  forgettest  the  manner  in 
which  I  was  wont  to  feed  thy  hunger,  as  the  frost 
pinched  thee,  in  the  cold  mornings,  and  at  the  hour 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  291 

when  the  kine  needed  thy  care ;  else  thou  \voulds, 
not  call  me  woman." 

"  Hast  ever  been  on  the  trail  of  a  Pequot  ? 
Know'st  how  to  whoop  among  the  men  1" 

"What  is  an  Indian  whoop,  to  the  bleating  of 
thy  flocks,  or  the  be  lowing  of  cattle  in  the  bushes'! 
Thou  rememberest  the  sound  of  the  bells,  as  they 
tinkled  among  the  second  growth  of  an  evening  ?" 

The  ancient  herdsman  turned  his  head,  and 
seemed  to  lend  his  attention,  as  a  dog  listens  to  an 
approaching  footstep.  But  the  gleam  of  recollection 
was  quickly  lost.  In  the  next  moment,  he  yielded 
to  the  more  positive,  and  possibly  more  urgent, 
demands  of  his  appetite. 

"Then  hast  thou  lost  the  use  of  ears;  else  thou 
wouldst  not  say  that  thou  forgettest  the  sound  of 
the  bells." 

"Didst  ever  hear  a  wolf  howl?'1  exclaimed  the 
other.  "That's  a  sound  for  a  hunter!  I  saw  the 
Great  Chief  strike  the  striped  panther,  when  the 
boldest  warrior  of  the  tribe  grew  white  as  a  craven 
Pale-face  at  his  leaps  !" 

"Talk  not  to  me  of  your  ravenous  beasts  and 
Great  Chiefs,  but  rather  let  us  think  of  the  days 
when  we  were  young,  and  when  thou  hadst  delight 
in  the  sports  of  a  Christian  childhood.  Hast  forgot 
ten,  Whittal,  how  our  mother  used  to  give  us  leave 
to  pass  the  idle  time  in  games  among  the  snow?" 

"  Nipset  hath  a  mother  in  her  wigwam,  but  he 
asketh  no  leave  to  go  on  the  hunt.  H^  is  a  man ; 
the  next  snow,  he  will  be  a  warrior." 

"Silly  boy!  This  is  some  treachery  of  the  savage, 
by  which  he  has  bound  thy  weakness  with  the  fet 
ters  of  his  craftiness.  Thy  mother,  Whittal,  was  a 
woman  of  Christian  belief,  and  one  of  a  white  race ; 
and  a  kind  and  mourning  mother  was  she  over  thy 
feeble-mindedness  !  Dost  not  remember,  unthankful 
of  heart !  how  she  nursed  thy  sickly  hours  in  boy- 


292  THE    WEPT 

hood,  and  how  she  administered  to  all  thy  bodily 
wants?  Who  was  it  that  fed  thee  when  a-hungered, 
or  who  had  compassion  on  thy  waywardness,  when 
others  tired  of  thy  idle  deeds,  or  grew  impatient  of 
thy  weakness?" 

The  brother  looked,  for  an  instant,  at  the  flushed 
features  of  the  speaker,  as  if  glimmerings  of  some 
faintly  distinguished  scenes  crossed  the  visions  of 
his  mind;  but  the  animal  still  predominated,  and 
he  continued  to  feed  his  hunger. 

"This  exceedeth  human  endurance!"  exclaimed 
the  excited  Faith.  "Look  into  this  eye,  weak  one. 
and  say  if  thou  knowest  her  who  supplied  the  place 
of  that  mother  whom  thou  refusest  to  remember — 
she  who  hath  toiled  for  thy  comfort,  and  who  hath 
never  refused  to  listen  to  all  thy  plaints,  and  to 
soften  all  thy  sufferings.  Look  at  this  eye,  and 
speak — dost  know  me?" 

"Certain!"  returned  the  other,  laughing  with  a 
half-intelligent  expression  of  recognition;  "'tis  a 
woman  of  the  Pale-faces,  and  I  warrant  me,  one 
that  will  never  be  satisfied  till  she  hath  all  the  furs 
of  the  Americas  on  her  back,  and  all  the  venison 
of  the  woods  in  her  kitchen.  Didst  ever  hear  the 
tradition,  how  that  wicked  race  got  into  the  hunt 
ing-grounds,  and  robbed  the  warriors  of  the  coun 
try?" 

The  disappointment  of  Faith  had  made  her  too 
impatient  to  lend  a  pleased  attention  to  this  tale ; 
but,  at  that  moment,  a  form  appeared  at  her  side, 
and  by  a  quiet  and  commanding  gesture  directed 
her  to  humor  the  temper  of  the  wanderei 

It  was  Ruth,  in  whose  pale  cheek  and  anxious 
eye,  all  the  intenseness  of  a  mother's  longings  might 
be  traced,  in  its  most  touching  aspect.  Though  so 
lately  helpless  and  sinking  beneath  her  emotions, 
the  sacred  feelings  which  now  sustained  her  seem 
ed  to  supply  the  place  of  all  other  aid ;  and  as  she 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  293 

glided  past  the  listening  circle,  even  Content  him 
self  had  not  believed  it  necessary  to  offer  succor,  or 
to  interpose  with  remonstrance.  Her  quiet,  mean 
ing  gesture  seemed  to  say,  '  proceed,  and  show  all 
indulgence  to  the  weakness  of  the  young  man/ 
The  rising  discontent  of  Faith  was  checked  by  ha 
bitual  reverence,  and  she  prepared  to  obey. 

"  And  what  say  the  silly  traditions  of  which  you 
speak  ?"  she  added,  ere  the  current  of  his  dull  ideas 
had  time  to  change  its  direction. 

"  'Tis  spoken  by  the  old  men  in  the  villages,  and 
what  is  there  said  is  gospel-true.  You  see  all  around 
you,  land  that  is  covered  with  hill  and  valley,  and 
which  once  bore  wood,  without  the  fear  of  the  axe, 
and  over  which  game  was  spread  with  a  bountiful 
hand.  There  are  runners  and  hunters  in  our  tribe, 
who  have  been  on  a  straight  path  towards  the  set 
ting  sun,  untiJ  their  legs  were  weary  and  their  eyes 
could  not  SCP  the  clouds  that  hang  over  the  salt 
lake,  and  yet  they  say,  'tis  everywhere  beautiful  as 
vonder  green  mountain.  Tall  trees  and  shady  woods, 
fivers  and  likes  filled  with  fish,  and  deer  and  beaver 
plentiful  as  the  sands  on  the  sea-shore.  All  this  land 
and  water  the  Great  Spirit  gave  to  men  of  red  skins ; 
for  them  he  loved,  since  they  spoke  truth  in  their 
tribes,  were  true  to  their  friends,  hated  their  ene 
mies,  and  knew  how  to  take  scalps.  Now,  a  thou 
sand  snows  had  come  and  melted,  since  this  gift  was 
made,"  continued  Whittal,  who  spoke  with  the  air 
of  one  charged  with  the  narration  of  a  grave  tra 
dition,  though  he  probably  did  no  more  than  relate 
what  many  repetitions  had  rendered  familiar  to  his 
inactive  mind,  "  and  yet  none  but  red-skins  were 
seen  to  hunt  the  moose,  or  to  go  on  the  war-path. 
Then  the  Great  Spirit  grew  angry ;  he  hid  his  face 
from  his  children,  because  they  quarrelled  among 
themselves.  Big  canoes  came  out  of  the  rising  sun, 
and  brouglt  a  hungry  and  wicked  people  into  the 
25* 


THE    WEPT 

hind.  At  first,  the  strangers  spoke  soft  and  complain 
ing  like  women.  They  begged  room  for  a  few  wig 
wams,  and  said  if  tlie  warriors  would  give  them 
ground  to  plant,  they  wouM  ask  their  God  to  lopk 
upon  the  red-men.  But  when  they  grew  strong, 
they  forgot  their  words  and  made  liars  of  them 
selves.  Oh,  they  are  wicked  knaves !  A  Pale-face 
is  a  panther.  When  a-hungered,  you  can  hear  him 
whining  in  the  bushes  like  a  strayed  infant;  but 
when  you  come  within  his  leap,  beware  of  tooth 
and  claw !" 

"This  evil-minded  race,  then,  robbed  the  red 
warriors  of  their  land  ?" 

"  Certain !  They  spoke  like  sick  women,  till  the}r 
grew  strong,  and  then  they  out-devilled  the  Pequots 
themselves  in  wickedness ;  feeding  the  warriors  with 
their  burning  milk,  and  slaying  with  blazing  inven 
tions,  that  they  made  out  of  the  yellow  meal." 

"And  the  Pequods!  was  their  great  warrior  dead, 
before  the  coming  of  the  men  from  over  sea?" 

"  You  are  a  woman  that  has  never  heard  a  tra 
dition,  or  you  would  know  better !  A  Pequot  is  a 
weak  and  crawling  cub." 

"  And  thou — thou  art  then  a  Narragansett  ?" 

"  Don't  I  look  like  a  man  ?" 

"  I  had  mistaken  thee  for  one  of  our  nearer  neigh 
bors,  the  Mohegan  Pequods." 

"  The  Mohicans  are  basket-makers  for  the  Yen- 
geese  ;  but  the  Narragansett  goes  leaping  through 
the  woods,  like  a  wolf  on  the  trail  of  the  deer !" 

"  All  this  is  quite  in  reason,  and  now  thou  pointest 
to  its  justice,  I  cannot  fail  but  see  it.  But  we  have 
curiosity  to  know  more  of  the  great  tribe.  Hast 
ever  heard  of  one  of  thy  people,  Whittal,  known 
as  Miantonimoh — 'tis  a  chief  of  some  renown." 

The  witless  youth  had  continued  to  eat,  at  inter 
vals  ;  but,  on  hearing  this  question,  he  seemed  sud 
denly  to  forget  his  appetite.  For  a  moment  he  look 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  295 

ed  down,  and  then  he  answered  slowly  and  not  with 
out  solemnity — 

"  A  man  cannot  live  for  ever." 

"  What !"  said  Faith,  motior  ing  to  her  deeply- 
interested  auditors  to  restrain  their  impatience — 
"  has  he  quitted  his  people  ?  And  thou  lived  with 
him,  Whittal,  ere  he  came  to  his  end?" 

"  He  never  looked  on  Nipset,  nor  Nipset  on  him.*' 

"  I  know  nought  of  this  Mpset ;  tell  me  of  the 
great  Miantonimoh." 

"Dost  need  to  hear  twice?  The  Sachem  is  gone 
to  the  far  land,  and  Nipset  will  be  a  warrior  when 
the  next  snow  comes  !" 

Disappointment  threw  a  cloud  on  every  counte 
nance,  and  the  beam  of  hope,  which  had  been  kin 
dling  in  the  eye  of  Ruth,  changed  to  the  former 
painful  expression  of  deep  inward  suffering.  But 
Faith  still  managed  to  repress  all  speech  among 
those  who  listened,  continuing  the  examination,  af 
ter  a  short  delay  that  her  vexation  rendered  una 
voidable. 

"I  had  thought  that  Miantonimoh  was  still  a 
warrior  in  his  tribe,"  she  said.  "  In  what  battle  did 
he  fall  ?" 

"Mohican  Uncas  did  that  wicked  deed.  The 
Pale-men  gave  him  great  riches  to  murder  the  Sa 
chem." 

"Thou  speakest  of  the  father;  but  there  was 
another  Miantonimoh;  he  who  in  boyhood  dwelt 
among  the  people  of  white  blood," 

Whittal  listened  attentively ;  and  after  seeming 
to  rally  his  thoughts,  he  shook  his  head,  saying  be 
fore  he  again  began  to  eat — 

"There  never  was  but  one  of  the  name,  and 
there  never  will  be  another.  Two  eagles  do  not 
build  their  nests  in  the  same  tree." 

"  Thou  sayest  truly,"  continued  Faith ;  well 
knowing  that  to  dispute  tne  information  of  her  bro- 


296  THE    WEPT 

ther,  was  in  effect  to  close  his  mouth.  "  Now  tell 
me  of  Conanchet,  the  present  Narragansett  Sachem 
— he  who  hath  leagued  with  Metacom,  and  hath 
of  late  been  driven  from  his  fastness  near  the  sea — • 
doth  he  yet  live  ?" 

The  expression  of  the  brother's  countenance  un 
derwent  another  change.  In  place  of  the  childish 
importance  with  which  he  had  hitherto  replied  to 
the  questions  of  his  sister,  a  look  of  overreaching 
cunning  gathered  about  his  dull  eye.  The  organ 
glanced  slowly  and  cautiously  around  him,  as  if  its 
owner  expected  to  detect  some  visible  sign  of  those 
covert  intentions  he  so  evidently  distrusted.  Instead 
of  answering,  the  wanderer  continued  his  meal, 
though  less  like  one  who  had  need  of  sustenance, 
than  one  resolved  to  make  no  communications  which 
might  prove  dangerous.  This  change  was  not  un 
observed  by  Faith,  or  by  any  of  those  who  so  in 
tently  watched  the  means  by  which  she  had  been 
endeavoring  to  thread  the  confused  ideas  of  one  so 
dull,  and  yet  who  at  need  seemed  so  practised  in 
savage  artifice.  She  prudently  altered  her  manner 
of  interrogating,  by  endeavoring  to  lead  his  thoughts 
to  other  matters. 

"  I  warrant  me,"  continued  the  sister,  "  that  thou 
now  beginnest  to  call  to  mind  the  times  when  thou 
led'st  the  cattle  among  the  bushes,  and  how  thou 
wert  wont  to  call  on  Faith  to  give  thee  food,  when 
a-weary  with  threading  the  woods  in  quest  of  the 
kine.  Hast  ever  been  assailed  by  the  Narragansetts 
thyself,  Whittal,  when  dwelling  in  the  house  of  a 
Pale-face  ?" 

The  brother  ceased  eating.  Again  he  appeared 
to  muse  as  intently  as  was  possible,  for  one  of  his 
circumscribed  intellects.  But  shaking  his  head  in 
the  negative,  he  silently  resumed  the  grateful  office 
of  mastication. 

"  What !  hast  come  to  be  a  warrior,  and  never 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  297 

known  a  scalp  taken,  or  seen  a  fire  lighted  in  the 
roof  of  a  wigwam  ?" 

Whittal  laid  down  the  food,  and  turned  to  his 
sister.  His  face  was  teeming  with  a  wild  and  fierce 
meaning,  and  he  indulged  in  a  low  but  triumphant 
laugh.  When  this  exhibition  of  satisfaction  was 
over,  he  consented  to  reply. 

"Certain,"  he  said.  "We  went  on  a  path,  in  the 
night,  against  the  lying  Yengeese,  and  no  burning 
of  the  woods  ever  scorched  the  'arth  as  we  black 
ened  their  fields  !  All  their  proud  housen  were  turn 
ed  into  piles  of  coals." 

"  And  where  and  when  did  you  this  act  of  brave 
vengeance  ?" 

"  They  called  the  place  after  the  bird  of  night ; 
as  if  an  Indian  name  could  save  them  from  an  In 
dian  massacre !" 

"  Ha  !  'Tis  of  the  Wish-Ton-Wish  thou  speakest ' 
But  thou  wast  a  sufferer,  and  not  an  actor,  brother, 
in  that  heartless  burning." 

"  Thou  Rest  like  a  wicked  woman  of  the  Pale 
faces,  as  thou  art !  Nipset  was  only  a  boy  on  that 
path,  but  he  went  with  his  people.  I  tell  thee,  we 
singed  the  very  'arth  with  our  brands,  and  not  a 
head  of  them  all  ever  rose  again  from  the  ashes." 

Notwithstanding  her  great  self-command,  and  the 
object  that  was  constantly  before  the  mind  of  Faith, 
she  shuddered  at  the  fierce  pleasure  with  which 
her  brother  pronounced  the  extent  of  the  vengeance, 
that,  in  his  imaginary  character,  he  believed  he 
had  taken  on  his  enemies.  Still  cautious  not  to  de 
stroy  an  illusion  which  might  aid  her,  in  the  so- 
long-defeated  and  so-anxiously-desired  discovery,  the 
woman  repressed  her  horror,  and  continued — 

"True — yet  some  were  spared — surely  the  war 
riors  carried  prisoners  back  to  their  village.  Thou 
didst  not  slay  all  ?" 

"All." 


298  THE    WEPT 

"  Nay — thou  speakest  now  of  the  miserables  who 
were  wrapt  in  the  blazing  b]ock ;  but — but  some, 
without,  might  have  fallen  into  thy  hands,  ere  the 
assailed  sought  shelter  in  the  tower.  Surely — surely 
thou  didst  not  kill  all?" 

The  hard  breathing  of  Ruth  caught  the  ear  of 
Whittal,  and  for  a  moment  he  turned  to  regard  her 
countenance  in  dull  wonder.  But  again  shaking 
his  head,  he  answered  in  a  low,  positive  tone — 

"  All ; — ay,  to  the  screeching  women  and  crying 
babes !" 

"  Surely  there  is  a  child — I  would  say  there  is  a 
woman,  in  thy  tribe,  of  fairer  skin  and  of  form  dif 
ferent  from  most  of  thy  people.  Was  not  such  an 
one  led  a  captive  from  the  burning  of  the  Wish- 
Ton-Wish?" 

"  Dost  think  the  deer  will  live  with  the  wolf,  or 
hast  ever  found  the  cowardly  pigeon  in  the  nest  of 
the  hawk?" 

"  Nay,  thou  art  of  different  color  thyself,  Whittal, 
and  it  well  may  be,  thou  art  not  alone." 

The  youth  regarded  his  sister  a  moment  with 
marked  displeasure,  and  then,  on  turning  to  eat,  he 
muttered — 

"  There  is  as  much  fire  in  snow,  as  truth  in  a  ly 
ing  Yengeese  ?" 

"  This  examination  must  close,"  said  Content, 
with  a  heavy  sigh ;  "  at  another  hour,  we  may  nope 
to  push  the  matter  to  some  more  fortunate  result ; 
but,  yonder  cometh  one  charged  with  especial  ser 
vice  from  the  towns  below,  as  would  seem  by  the 
fact  that  he  disregardeth  the  holiness  of  the  day 
no  less  than  by  the  earnest  manner  in  which  he  is 
journeying." 

As  the  individual  named  was  visible  to  all  who 
chose  to  look  in  the  direction  of  the  hamlet,  his 
sudden  appearance  caused  a  general  interruption 
to  the  interest  which  had  been  so  strongly  awaken- 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  299 

ed  on  a  subject  that  was  familiar  to  every  resident 
in  the  valley. 

The  early  hour,  the  gait  at  which  the  stranger 
urged  his  horse,  the  manner  in  which  he  passed  the 
open  and  inviting  door  of  the  Whip-Poor- Will,  pro 
claimed  him  a  messenger,  who  probably  bore  some 
communication  of  importance  from  the  Government 
of  the  Colony  to  the  younger  Heathcote,  who  filled 
the  highest  station  of  official  authority  in  that  dis 
tant  settlement.  Observations  to  this  purport  had 
passed  from  mouth  to  mouth,  and  curiosity  was  ac 
tively  alive,  by  the  time  the  horseman  rode  into 
the  court.  There  he  dismounted,  and,  covered  with 
the  dust  of  the  road,  he  presented  himself,  with 
the  air  of  one  who  had  passed  the  night  in  the  sad 
dle,  before  the  man  he  sought. 

"  I  have  orders  for  Captain  Content  Heathcote," 
said  the  messenger,  saluting  all  around  him  with 
the  usual  grave  but  studied  courtesy  of  the  people 
to  whom  he  belonged. 

"He  is  here  to  receive  and  to  obey,"  was  the 
answer. 

The  traveller  wore  a  little  of  that  mysteriousness 
that  is  so  grateful  to  certain  minds,  which,  from 
inability  to  command  respect  in  any  other  manner, 
are  fond  of  making  secrets  of  matters  that  might  as 
well  be  revealed.  In  obedience  to  this  feeling,  he 
expressed  a  desire  that  his  communications  might 
be  made  apart.  Content  quietly  motioned  for  him 
to  follow,  leading  the  way  into  an  inner  apartment 
of  the  house.  As  a  new  direction  was  given  by  this 
interruption,  to  the  thoughts  of  the  spectators  of 
the  foregoing  scene,  we  shall  also  take  the  opportu 
nity  to  digress,  in  order  to  lay  before  the  reader 
some  general  facts  that  may  be  necessary  to  the 
connexion  of  the  subsequent  parts  of  the  legend. 


THE   WEPT 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


uBe  certain  what  you  do,  sir;  lest  your  justice 
Prove  violence." 

WINTER'S  TALE. 


THE  designs  of  the  celebrated  Metacom  had  been 
betrayed  to  the  Colonists,  by  the  treachery  of  a 
subordinate  warrior,  named  Sausaman.  The  pun 
ishment  of  this  treason  led  to  inquiries,  which  ter 
minated  in  accusations  against  the  great  Sachem 
of  the  Wampanoags.  Scorning  to  vindicate  himself 
before  enemies  that  he  hated,  and  perhaps  distrust 
ing  their  clemency,  Metacom  no  longer  endeavored 
to  cloak  his  proceedings ;  but,  throwing  aside  the 
emblems  of  peace  he  openly  appeared  with  an 
armed  hand. 

The  tragedy  had  commenced  about  a  year  be 
fore  the  period  at  which  the  tale  has  now  arrived. 
A  scene,  not  unlike  that  detailed  in  the  foregoing 
pages,  took  place;  the  brand,  the  knife,  and  the 
tomahawk,  doing  their  work  of  destruction,  without 
pity  and  without  remorse.  But,  unlike  the  inroad 
of  the  Wish-Ton-Wish,  this  expedition  was  imme 
diately  followed  by  others,  until  the  whole  of  New- 
England  was  engaged  in  the  celebrated  war,  to 
which  we  have  before  referred. 

The  entire  white  population  of  the  Colonies  of 
New-England  had  shortly  before  been  estimated  at 
one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  souls.  Of  this 
number,  it  was  thought  that  sixteen  thousand  men 
were  capable  of  bearing  arms.  Had  time  been 
given  for  the  maturity  of  the  plans  of  Metacom,  he 
might  have  readily  assembled  bands  of  warriors 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  301 

who,  aided  by  their  familiarity  with  the  woods,  and 
accustomed  to  the  privations  of  such  a  warfare, 
would  have  threatened  serious  danger  to  the  grow 
ing  strength  of  the  whites.  But  the  ordinary  and 
selfish  feelings  of  man  were  as  active,  among  these 
wild  tribes,  as  they  are  known  to  be  in  more  artifi 
cial  communities.  The  indefatigable  Metacom,  like 
that  Indian  hero  of  our  own  times,  Tecumthe,  had 
passed  years  in  endeavoring  to  appease  ancient  en 
mities  and  to  lull  jealousies,  in  order  that  all  of  red 
blood  might  unite  in  crushing  a  foe  that  promised, 
should  he  be  longer  undisturbed  in  his  march  to 
power,  soon  to  be  too  formidable  for  their  united 
eilbrts  to  subdue.  The  premature  explosion  in  some 
measure  averted  the  danger.  It  gave  the  English 
time  to  strike  several  severe  blows  against  the  tribe 
of  their  great  enemy,  before  his  allies  had  deter 
mined  to  make  common  cause  in  his  design.  The 
summer  and  autumn  of  1675  had  been  passed  in 
active  hostilities  between  the  English  and  Wampa- 
noags,  without  openly  drawing  any  other  nation 
into  the  contest.  Some  of  the  Pequots,  with  their 
dependent  tribes,  even  took  sides  with  the  whites ; 
and  we  read  of  the  Mohegans  being  actively  em 
ployed  in  harassing  the  Sachem,  on  his  well-known 
retreat  from  that  neck  of  land,  where  he  had  been 
hemmed  in  by  the  English,  with  the  expectation 
that  he  might  be  starved  into  submission. 

The  warfare  of  the  first  summer  was,  as  might 
be  expected,  attended  by  various  degrees  of  success, 
fortune  quite  as  often  favoring  the  red-men,  in  their 
desultory  attempts  at  annoyance,  as  their  more  dis 
ciplined  enemies.  Instead  of  confining  his  operations 
to  his  own  circumscribed  and  easily  environed  dis 
tricts,  Metacom  had  led  his  warriors  to  the  distant 
settlements  on  the  Connecticut ;  and  it  was  during 
the  operations  of  this  season,  that  several  of  the 
towns  on  that  river  were  first  assailed  and  laid  in 
26 


302  THE    WEPT 

ashes.  Active  hostilities  had  in  some  measure  ceased, 
between  the  Wampanoags  and  the  English,  with 
the  cold  weather,  most  of  the  troops  retiring  to  their 
homes,  while  the  Indians  apparently  paused  to  take 
breath  for  their  final  effort. 

It  was,  however,  previously  to  this  cessation  of 
activity,  that  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colo 
nies,  as  they  were  called,  met  to  devise  the  means 
of  a  concerted  resistance.  Unlike  their  former  dan 
gers  from  the  same  quarter,  it  was  manifest,  by  the 
manner  in  which  a  hostile  feeling  was  spreading 
around  their  whole  frontier,  that  a  leading  spirit 
nad  given  as  much  of  unity  and  design  to  the  move 
ments  of  the  foe,  as  could  probably  ever  be  created 
among  a  people  so  separated  by  distance  and  so 
divided  in  communities.  Right  or  wrong,  the  Colo 
nists  gravely  decided  that  the  war  on  their  part 
was  just.  Great  preparations  were  therefore  made 
to  carry  it  on,  the  ensuing  summer,  in  a  manner 
more  suited  to  their  means,  and  to  the  absolute  ne 
cessities  of  their  situation.  It  was  in  consequence 
of  the  arrangements  made  for  bringing  a  portion 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut  into 
the  field,  that  we  find  the  principal  characters  of 
our  legend  in  the  warlike  guise  in  which  they  have 
just  been  re-introduced  to  the  reader. 

Although  the  Narragansetts  had  not  at  first  been 
openly  implicated  in  the  attacks  on  the  Colonists, 
facts  soon  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  latter, 
which  left  no  doubt  of  the  state  of  feeling  in  that 
nation.  Many  of  their  young  men  were  discover 
ed  among  the  followers  of  Metacom,  and  arms 
taken  from  whites,  who  had  been  slain  in  the  differ 
ent  encounters,  were  also  seen  in  their  villages. 
One  of  the  first  measures  of  the  Commissioners, 
"therefore,  was  to  anticipate  more  serious  opposition, 
by  directing  an  overwhelming  force  against  this 
people.  The  party  collected  on  that  occasion  was 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH. 


303 


probably  the  largest  military  body  which  the  Eng 
lish,  at  that  early  day,  had  ever  assembled  in  their 
Colonies.  It  consisted  of  a  thousand  men,  of  whom 
no  inconsiderable  number  was  cavalry — a  species 
of  troops  that,  as  all  subsequent  experience  has 
shown,  is  admirably  adapted  to  operations  against 
so  active  and  so  subtle  a  foe. 

The  attack  was  made  in  the  depth  of  winter, 
and  it  proved  fearfully  destructive  to  the  assailed. 
The  defence  of  Conanchet,  the  young  Sachem  of 
the  Narragansetts,  was  every  way  worthy  of  his 
high  character  for  courage  and  mental  resources, 
nor  was  the  victory  gained  without  serious  loss  to 
the  Colonists.  The  native  chief  had  collected  his 
warriors,  and  taken  post  on  a  small  area  of  firm 
land,  that  was  situated  in  the  centre  of  a  densely 
wooded  swamp;  and  the  preparations  for  resistance 
betrayed  a  singular  familiarity  with  the  military 
expedients  of  a  white  man.  There  had  been  a  pali- 
sadoed  breast-work,  a  species  of  redoubt,  and  a 
regular  block-house,  to  overcome,  ere  the  Colonists 
could  penetrate  into  the  fortified  village  itself.  The 
first  attempts  were  unsuccessful,  the  Indians  having 
repulsed  their  enemies  with  loss.  But  better  arms 
and  greater  concert  finally  prevailed,  though  not 
without  a  struggle  that  lasted  for  many  hours,  and 
not  until  the  defendants  were,  in  truth,  nearly  sur 
rounded. 

The  events  of  that  memorable  day  made  a  deep 
impression  on  the  minds  of  men  who  were  rarely 
excited  by  any  incidents  of  a  great  and  moving 
character.  It  was  still  the  subject  of  earnest  and 
not  unfrequently  of  melancholy  discourse,  around 
the  fire-sides  of  the  Colonists ;  nor  was  the  victory 
achieved  without  accompaniments  which,  however 
unavoidable  they  might  have  been,  had  a  tendency 
to  raise  doubts  in  the  minds  of  conscientious  religion 
ists  concerning  the  lawfulness  of  their  cause.  It  is 


304  THE    WEPT 

said  that  a  village  of  six  hundred  cabins  was  burnt; 
and  that  hundreds  of  dead  and  wounded  were  con 
sumed  in  the  conflagration.  A  thousand  warriors 
were  thought  to  have  lost  their  lives  in  this  affair, 
and  it  was  believed  that  the  power  of  the  nation 
was  broken  for  ever.  The  sufferers  among  the 
Colonists  themselves  were  numerous,  and  mourning 
came  into  a  vast  many  families,  with  the  tidings  of 
victory. 

In  this  expedition  most  of  the  men  of  the  Wish-Ton- 
Wish  had  been  conspicuous  actors,  under  the  orders 
of  Content.  They  had  not  escaped  with  impunity ; 
but  it  was  confidently  hoped  that  their  courage  was 
to  meet  its  reward  in  a  long  continuance  of  peace, 
which  was  the  more  desirable  on  account  of  their 
remote  and  exposed  situation. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Narragansetts  were  far 
from  being  subdued.  Throughout  the  whole  con 
tinuance  of  the  inclement  season,  they  had  caused 
alarms  on  the  frontiers;  and, in  one  or  two  instances, 
their  renowned  Sachem  had  taken  signal  vengeance 
for  the  dire  affair  in  which  his  people  had  so  heavily 
suffered.  As  the  spring  advanced,  the  inroads  be 
came  still  more  frequent,  and  the  appearances  of 
danger  so  far  increased  as  to  require  a  new  call  on 
the  Colonists  to  arm.  The  messenger,  introduced  in 
the  last  chapter,  was  charged  with  matter  that  had 
a  reference  to  the  events  of  this  war ;  and  it  was 
with  an  especial  communication  of  great  urgency, 
that  he  had  now  demanded  his  secret  audience  with 
the  leader  of  the  military  force  of  the  valley. 

".Thou  hast  affairs  of  moment  to  deal  with,  Cap 
tain  Heathcote,"  said  the  hard-riding  traveller,  when 
he  found  himself  alone  with  Content.  "  The  orders 
of  his  Honor  are  to  spare  neither  whip  nor  spur, 
until  the  chief  men  of  the  borders  shall  be  warned 
of  the  actual  situation  of  the  Colony." 

"  Hath  aught  of  moving  interest  occurred,  that 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  305 

his  Honor  deemeth  there  is  necessity  for  unusual 
watchfulness.  We  had  hoped  that  the  prayers  of  the 
pious  were  not  in  vain ;  and  that  a  time  of  quiet 
was  about  to  succeed  to  that  violence,  of  which, 
bounden  by  our  social  covenants,  we  have  unhappily 
been  unwilling  spectators.  The  bloody  assault  of 
Pettyquamscott  hath  exercised  our  minds  severely — 
nay,  it  hath  even  raised  doubts  of  the  lawfulness  of 
some  of  our  deeds." 

"  Thou  hast  a  commendable  spirit  of  forgiveness, 
Captain  Heathcote,  or  thy  memory  would  extend  to 
other  scenes  than  those  which  bear  relation  to  the 
punishment  of  an  enemy  so  remorseless.  It  is  said 
on  the  river,  that  the  valley  of  Wish-Ton-Wish  hath 
been  visited  by  the  savage  in  its  day,  and  men  speak 
freely  of  the  wrongs  suffered  by  its  owners  on  that 
pitiless  occasion." 

"  The  truth  may  not  be  denied,  even  that  good 
should  come  thereof.  It  is  certain  that  much  suffer 
ing  was  inflicted  on  me  and  on  mine,  by  the  inroad 
of  which  you  speak ;  nevertheless  we  have  ever 
striven  to  consider  it  as  a  merciful  chastisement  in 
flicted  for  manifold  sins,  rather  than  as  a  subject 
that  might  be  remembered,  in  order  to  stimulate 
passions  that,  in  all  reason  as  in  all  charity,  should 
slumber  as  much  as  a  weak  nature  will  allow." 

"  This  is  well,  Captain  Heathcote,  and  in  exceed 
ing  conformity  with  the  most  received  doctrines," 
returned  the  stranger,  slightly  gaping,  either  from 
want  of  rest  the  previous  night,  or  from  disinclina 
tion  to  so  grave  a  subject ;  "  but  it  hath  little  con 
nexion  with  present  duties.  My  charge  beareth  es 
pecial  concern  with  the  further  destruction  of  the 
Indians,  rather  than  to  any  inward  searchings  into 
the  condition  of  our  own  mental  misgivings,  con 
cerning  any  right  it  maybe  thought  proper  to  ques 
tion,  that  hath  a  reference  to  the  duty  of  self-pro 
tection.  There  is  no  unworthy  dweller  in  the  Con- 
26* 


306  THE    WEPT 

necticut  Colony,  sir,  that  hath  endeavored  more  to 
cultivate  a  tender  conscience,  than  the  wretched 
sinner  who  standeth  before  you ;  for  I  have  the  ex 
ceeding  happiness  to  sit  under  the  outpourings  of  a 
spirit  that  hath  few  mortal  superiors  in  the  matter 
of  precious  gifts.  I  now  speak  of  Dr.  Calvin  Pope ; 
a  most  worthy  and  soul-quieting  divine ;  one  who 
spareth  not  the  goad  when  the  conscience  needeth 
pricking,  nor  hesitateth  to  dispense  consolation  to  him 
who  seeth  his  fallen  estate  ;  and  one  that  never  fail- 
eth  to  deal  with  charity,  and  humbleness  of  spirit, 
and  forbearance  with  the  failings  of  friends,  and 
forgiveness  of  enemies,  as  the  chiefest  signs  of  a 
renovated  moral  existence;  and,  therefore,  there 
can  be  but  little  reason  to  distrust  the  spiritual 
rightfulness  of  all  that  listen  to  the  riches  of  his 
discourse.  But  when  it  cometh  to  be  question  of  life 
or  death,  a  matter  of  dominion  and  possession  of  these 
fair  lands,  that  the  Lord  hath  given — why,  sir,  then 
I  say  that,  like  the  Israelites  dealing  with  the  sinful 
occupants  of  Canaan,  it  behoveth  us  to  be  true  to 
each  other,  and  to  look  upon  the  heathen  with  a  dis 
trustful  eye." 

"  There  may  be  reason  in  that  thou  utterest," 
observed  Content,  sorrowfully.  "  Still  it  is  lawful  to 
mourn  even  the  necessity  which  conduceth  to  all 
this  strife.  I  had  hoped  that  they  who  direct  the 
Councils  of  the  Colony  might  have  resorted  to  less 
violent  means  of  persuasion,  to  lead  the  savage 
back  to  reason,  than  that  which  cometh  from  the 
armed  hand.  Of  what  nature  is  thy  especial  er 
rand?' 

"  Of  deep  urgency,  sir,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  nar 
ration,"  returned  the  other,  dropping  his  voice  like 
one  habitually  given  to  the  dramatic  part  of  diplom 
acy,  however  unskilful  he  might  have  been  in  its 
more  intellectual  accomplishments.  "  Thou  wast  in 
the  Pettyquamscott  scourging,  and  need  not  be  re- 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  307 

minded  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Lord  dealt  with 
our  enemies  on  that  favor-dispensing  day;  but  it 
may  not  be  known  to  one  so  remote  from  the  stir 
ring  and  daily  transactions  of  Christendom,  in  what 
manner  the  savage  hath  taken  the  chastisement. 
The  restless  and  still  unconquered  Conanchet  hath 
deserted  his  towns  and  taken  refuge  in  the  open 
woods ;  where  it  exceedeth  the  skill  and  usage  of 
our  civilized  men  of  war,  to  discover,  at  all  times, 
the  position  and  force  of  their  enemies.  The  con 
sequences  may  be  easily  conjectured.  The  savage 
hath  broken  in  upon,  and  laid  waste,  in  whole  or  in 
part,  firstly — Lancaster,  on  the  tenth,"  counting  on 
his  fingers,  "  when  many  were  led  into  captivity ; 
secondly,  Marlboiough,  on  the  twentieth;  on  the 
thirteenth,  ultimo,  Groton ;  Warwick,  on  the  seven 
teenth  ;  and  Rehoboth,  Chelmsford,  Andover,  Wey- 
mouth,  and  divers  other  places,  have  been  greatly 
sufferers,  between  the  latter  period  and  the  day 
when  I  quitted  the  abode  of  his  Honor.  Pierce  of 
Scituate,  a  stout  warrior,  and  one  practised  in  the 
wiles  of  this  nature  of  warfare,  hath  been  cut  off 
with  a  whole  company  of  followers;  and  Wads- 
worth  and  Brockleband,  men  known  and  esteemed 
for  courage  and  skill,  have  left  their  bones  in  the 
woods,  sleeping  in  common  among  their  luckless  fol 
lowers." 

"  These  are  truly  tidings  to  cause  us  to  mourn 
over  the  abandoned  condition  of  our  nature,"  said 
Content,  in  whose  meek  mind  there  was  no  affecta 
tion  of  regrets  on  such  a  subject.  "  It  is  not  easy 
to  see  in  what  manner  the  evil  may  be  arrested, 
without  again  going  forth  to  battle." 

"  Such  is  the  opinion  of  his  Honor,  and  of  all  who 
sit  with  him  in  Council;  for  we  have  sufficient 
knowledge  of  the  proceedings  of  the  enemy,  to  be 
sure  that  the  master-spirit  of  wickedness,  in  the 
person  of  him  called  Philip,  is  raging  up  and  down 


308  THE   WEPT 

the  whole  extent  of  the  horders,  awakening  the 
tribes  to  what  he  calleth  the  necessity  of  resisting 
further  aggression,  and  stirring  up  their  vengeance, 
by  divers  subtle  expedients  of  malicious  cunning." 

"  And  what  manner  of  proceeding  hath  been  or 
dered,  in  so  urgent  a  strait,  by  the  wisdom  of  our 
rulers  ?" 

"Firstly,  there  is  a  fast  ordained,  that  we  come 
to  the  duty  as  men  purified  by  mental  struggle  and 
deep  self-examination ;  secondly,  it  is  recommended 
that  the  congregations  deal  with  more  than  wonted 
severity  with  all  backsliders  and  evil-doers,  in  order 
that  the  towns  may  not  fall  under  the  divine  dis 
pleasure,  as  happened  to  them  that  dwelt  in  the 
devoted  cities  of  Canaan ;  thirdly,  it  is  determined 
to  lend  our  feeble  aid  to  the  ordering  of  Providence, 
by  calling  forth  the  allotted  number  of  the  trained 
bands ;  and,  fourthly,  it  is  contemplated  to  counter 
act  the  seeds  of  vengeance,  by  setting  a  labor-earn 
ing  price  on  the  heads  of  our  enemies." 

"  I  accord  with  the  three  first  of  these  expedients, 
as  the  known  and  lawful  resorts  of  Christian  men," 
said  Content.  "  But  the  latter  seemeth  a  measure 
that  needeth  to  be  entertained  with  great  wariness 
of  manner,  and  some  distrust  of  purpose." 

"  Fear  not,  since  all  suiting  and  economical  dis 
cretion  is  active  in  the  minds  of  our  rulers,  who 
have  pondered  sagaciously  on  so  grave  a  policy.  It 
is  not  intended  to  offer  more  than  half  the  reward 
that  is  held  forth  by  our  more  wealthy  and  elder 
ister  of  the  Bay ;  and  there  is  some  acute  question 
about  the  necessity  of  bidding  at  all  for  any  of  ten 
der  years.  And  now,  Captain  Heathcote,  with  the 
good  leave  of  so  respectable  a  subject,  I  will  pro 
ceed  to  lay  before  you  the  details  of  the  number 
and  the  nature  of  the  force  that  it  is  hoped  you 
will  lead  in  person  in  the  ensuing  campaign." 

As  the  result  of  that  which  followed  will  be  seen 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH. 


309 


in  the  course  of  the  legend,  it  is  not  necessary  to 
accompany  the  Messenger  any  further  in  his  com 
munication.  We  shall  therefore  leave  him  and 
Content  busied  with  the  matter  of  their  conference, 
and  proceed  to  give  some  account  of  the  other  per 
sonages  connected  with  our  subject. 

When  interrupted,  as  already  related,  by  the  ar 
rival  of  the  stranger,  Faith  had  endeavored,  by  a 
new  expedient,  to  elicit  some  evidences  of  a  more 
just  remembrance  from  the  dull  mind  of  her  bro 
ther.  Accompanied  by  most  of  the  dependants  of 
the  family,  she  had  led  him  to  the  summit  of  that 
hill  which  was  now  crowned  with  the  foliage  of  a 
young  and  thrifty  orchard,  and,  placing  him  at  the 
foot  of  the  ruin,  she  tried  to  excite  a  train  of  re 
collections  that  should  lead  to  deeper  impressions, 
and,  possibly,  by  their  aid,  to  a  discovery  of  the 
important  circumstance  that  all  so  much  longed  to 
have  explained. 

The  experiment  produced  no  happy  result.  The 
place,  and  indeed  the  whole  valley,  had  undergone 
so  great  a  change,  that  one  more  liberally  gifted 
might  have  hesitated  to  believe  them  those  that 
have  been  described  in  our  earlier  pages.  This  rapid 
alteration  of  objects,  which  elsewhere  know  so  little 
change  in  a  long  course  of  ages,  is  a  fact  familiar 
to  all  who  reside  in  the  newer  districts  of  the 
Union.  It  is  caused  by  the  rapid  improvements  that 
are  made  in  the  first  stages  of  a  settlement.  To 
fell  the  forest  alone,  is  to  give  an  entirely  new  as 
pect  to  the  view ;  and  it  is  far  from  easy  to  see  in 
a  village  and  in  cultivated  fields,  however  recent 
the  existence  of  the  one  or  imperfect  the  other,  any 
traces  of  a  spot  that  a  short  time  before  was  known 
as  the  haunt  of  the  wolf  or  the  refuge  of  the  deer. 

The  features,  and  more  particularly  the  eye  of 
his  sister,  had  stirred  long-dormant  recollections  in 
the  mind  of  Whittal  Ring;  and  though  these  glimp- 


310  THE   WEPT 

ECS  of  the  past  were  detached  and  indistinct,  they 
had  sufficed  to  quicken  that  ancient  confidence 
which  was  partially  exhibited  in  their  opening  con 
ference.  But  it  exceeded  his  feeble  powers  to  re 
call  objects  that  would  appeal  to  no  very  lively 
sympathies,  and  which  had  themselves  undergone  so 
material  alterations.  Still,  the  witless  youth  did 
not  look  on  the  ruin  entirely  without  some  stirrings 
of  his  nature.  Although  the  sward  around  its  base 
was  lively  in  the  brightest  verdure  of  early  sum 
mer,  and  the  delicious  odor  of  the  wild  clover  sa 
luted  his  senses,  still  there  was  that  in  the  blacken 
ed  and  ragged  walls,  the  position  of  the  tower,  and 
the  view  of  the  surrounding  hills,  shorn  as  so  much 
of  them  now  were,  that  evidently  spoke  to  his  ear 
liest  impressions.  He  looked  at  the  spot,  as  a  hound 
gazes  at  a  master  who  has  been  so  long  lost  as  even 
to  deaden  his  instinct;  and  at  times,  as  his  compan 
ions  endeavored  to  aid  his  faint  images,  it  would 
seem  as  if  memory  were  likely  to  triumph,  and  all 
those  deceptive  opinions,  which  habit  and  Indian 
wiles  had  drawn  over  his  dull  mind,  were  about  to 
vanish  before  the  light  of  reality.  But  the  allure 
ments  of  a  life  in  which  there  was  so  much  of  the 
freedom  of  nature  mingled  with  the  fascinating 
pleasures  of  the  chase  and  of  the  woods,  were  not 
to  be  dispossessed  so  readily.  When  Faith  artfully 
led  him  back  to  those  animal  enjoyments  of  which 
he  had  been  so  fond  in  boyhood,  the  fantasy  of  her 
brother  seemed  most  to  waver;  but  whenever  it 
became  apparent  that  the  dignity  of  a  warrior,  and 
all  the  more  recent  and  far  more  alluring  delights 
of  his  later  life,  were  to  be  abandoned  ere  his  being 
could  return  into  its  former  existence,  his  dull  fac 
ulties  obstinately  refused  to  lend  themselves  to  a 
change  that,  in  his  case,  would  have  been  little 
short  of  that  attributed  to  the  transmigration  oi 
souls. 


OF    WISH-TON- WISH.  311 

After  an  hour  of  anxious,  and  frequently,  on  the 
part  of  Faith,  of  angry  efforts  to  extract  some  evi 
dences  of  his  recollection  of  the  condition  of  life  to 
which  he  had  once  belonged,  the  attempt  for  the 
moment  was  abandoned.  At  times,  it  seemed  as  if 
the  woman  were  about  to  prevail.  He  often  called 
himself  Whittal,  but  he  continued  to  insist  that  he 
was  also  Nipset,  a  man  of  the  Narragansetts,  who 
had  a  mother  in  his  wigwam,  and  who  had  reason 
to  believe  that  he  should  be  numbered  among  the 
warriors  of  his  tribe,  ere  the  fall  of  another  snow. 

In  the  mean  time,  a  very  different  scene  was 
passing  at  the  place  where  the  first  examination 
had  been  held,  and  which  had  been  immediately 
deserted  by  most  of  the  spectators,  on  the  sudden 
arrival  of  the  Messenger.  But  a  solitary  individual 
was  seated  at  the  spacious  board,  which  had  been 
provided  alike  for  those  who  owned  and  presided 
over  the  estate,  and  for  their  dependants  to  the 
very  meanest.  The  individual  who  remained  had 
thrown  himself  into  a  seat,  less  with  the  air  of  him 
who  consults  the  demands  of  appetite,  than  of  one 
whose  thoughts  were  so  engrossing  as  to  render  him 
indifferent  to  the  situation  or  employment  of  his 
more  corporeal  part.  His  head  rested  on  his  arms, 
the  latter  effectually  concealing  the  face,  as  they 
were  spread  over  the  plain  but  exquisitely  neat 
table  of  cherry-wood,  which,  by  being  placed  at  the 
side  of  one  of  less  costly  material,  was  intended  to 
form  the  only  distinction  between  the  guests,  as,  in 
more  ancient  times  and  in  other  countries,  the  salt 
was  known  to  mark  the  difference  in  rank  among 
those  who  partook  of  the  same  feast. 

"  Mavk,"  said  a  timid  voice  at  his  elbow,  "  thou 
art  weary  with  this  night-watching,  and  with  the 
scouting  on  the  hills.  Dost  not  think  of  taking  food 
before  seeking  thy  rest  ?" 

"I  sleep  not,"   returned  the  youth,  raising  his 


312  THE   WEPT 

head,  and  gently  pushing  aside  the  basin  of  simple 
food  that  was  offered  by  one  whose  eye  looked  feel 
ingly  on  his  flushed  features,  and  whose  suffused 
cheek  perhaps  betrayed  there  was  secret  conscious 
ness  that  the  glance  was  kinder  than  maiden  diffi 
dence  should  allow.  "  I  sleep  not,  Martha,  nor  doth 
it  seem  to  me,  that  I  shall  ever  sleep  again." 

"  Thou  frightest  me  by  this  wild  and  unhappy 
eye.  Hast  suffered  aught  in  the  march  on  the 
mountains  ?" 

"  Dost  think  one  of  my  years  and  strength  unable 
to  bear  the  weariness  of  a  few  hours'  watching  in 
the  forest  I  The  body  is  well,  but  the  mind  endureth 
grievously." 

"  And  wilt  not  say  what  causeth  this  vexation  ? 
Thou  knowest,  Mark,  that  there  are  none  in  this 
dwelling — nay,  I  am  certain,  I  might  add  in  this 
valley,  that  do  not  wish  thee  happiness." 

"  'Tis  kind  to  say  it,  good  Martha — but,  thou 
never  hadst  a  sister !" 

"  'Tis  true,  I  am  all  of  my  race ;  and  yet  to  me 
it  seemeth  that  no  tie  of  blood  could  have  been 
nearer  than  the  love  I  bore  to  her  who  is  lost." 

"  Nor  mother !  Thou  never  knew'st  what  'tis  to 
reverence  a  parent." 

"  And  is  not  thy  mother  mine  ?"  answered  a  voice 
that  was  deeply  melancholy,  and  yet  so  soft  that  it 
caused  the  young  man  to  gaze  intently  at  his  com 
panion,  for  a  moment,  ere  he  again  spoke. 

"  True,  true,"  he  said  hurriedly.  "  Thou  must 
and  dost  love  her  who  hath  nursed  thy  infancy,  and 
brought  thee,  with  care  and  tenderness,  to  so  fair 
and  happy  a  womanhood."  The  eye  of  Martha 
grew  brighter,  and  the  color  of  her  healthful  cheek 
deepened,  as  Mark  unconsciously  uttered  this  com 
mendation  of  her  appearance ;  but  as  she  shrunk, 
with  female  sensitiveness,  from  his  observation,  the 
change  was  unnoticed,  and  he  continued :  "  Thou 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  313 

seest  that  my  mother  is  drooping,  hourly,  under  this 
sorrow  for  our  little  Ruth ;  and  who  can  say  what 
may  be  the  end  of  a  grief  that  endureth  so  long?" 

"  'Tis  true  that  there  hath  been  reason  to  fear 
much  in  her  behalf;  but,  of  late,  hope  hath  gotten 
the  better  of  apprehension.  Thou  dost  not  well, 
nay,  I  am  not  assured  thou  dost  not  evil,  to  permit 
this  discontent  with  Providence,  because  thy  mother 
yieldeth  to  a  little  more  than  her  usual  mourning, 
on  account  of  the  unexpected  return  of  one  so 
nearly  connected  with  her  that  we  have  lost." 

"  'Tis  not  that,  girl— 'tis  not  that !" 

"  If  thou  refusest  to  say  what  'tis  that  giveth  thee 
this  pain,  I  can  do  little  more  than  pity." 

"  Listen,  and  I  will  say.  It  is  now  many  years,  as 
thou  knowest,  since  the  savage  Mohawk,  or  Narra- 
gansett,  Pequot,  or  Wampanoag,  broke  in  upon  our 
settlement,  and  did  his  vengeance.  We  were  then 
children,  Martha ;  and  'tis  as  a  child,  that  I  have 
thought  of  that  merciless  burning.  Our  little  Ruth 
was,  like  thyself,  a  blooming  infant  of  some  seven 
or  eight  years ;  and,  I  know  not  how  the  folly  hath 
beset  me,  but  it  hath  been  ever  as  one  of  that  inno 
cence  and  age,  that  I  have  continued  to  think  of  my 
sister." 

"Surely  thou  knowest  that  time  cannot  stay;  the 
greater  therefore  is  the  reason  that  we  should  be 
industrious  to  improve " 

"  'Tis  what  our  duty  teacheth.  I  tell  thee,  Martha, 
that  at  night,  when  dreams  come  over  me,  as  they 
sometimes  will,  and  I  see  our  Ruth  wandering  in  the 
forest,  it  is  as  a  playful,  laughing  child,  such  as  we 
knew  her ;  and  even  while  waking,  do  I  fancy  my 
sister  at  my  knee,  as  she  was  wont  to  stand  when 
listening  to  those  idle  tales  with  which  we  lightened 
our  childhood." 

"But  we  had  our  birth  in  the  same  year  anq 

27 


314  THE    WEPT 

month — dost  think  of  me  too,  Mark,  as  one  of  that 
childish  age  1" 

"Ofthee!  That  cannot  well  be.  Do  I  not  see  that 
thou  art  grown  into  the  condition  of  a  woman,  that 
thy  little  tresses  of  brown  have  become  the  jet- 
black  and  flowing  hair  that  becomes  thy  years,  and 
that  thou  hast  the  stature,  and,  I  say  it  not  in  idle 
ness  of  speech,  Martha,  for  thou  knowest  my  tongue 
is  no  vain  flatterer,  but  do  I  not  see  that  thou  hast 
grown  into  all  the  excellence  of  a  most  comely 
maiden  ?  But  'tis  not  thus,  or  rather  'twas  not  thus, 
with  her  we  mourn ;  for  till  this  hour  have  I  ever 
pictured  my  sister  the  little  innocent  we  sported 
with,  that  gloomy  night  she  was  snatched  from  our 
arms  by  the  cruelty  of  the  savage." 

"And  what  hath  changed  this  pleasing  image  of 
our  Ruth  ?"  asked  his  companion,  half-covering  her 
face  to  conceal  the  still  deeper  glow  of  female 
gratification  which  had  been  kindled  by  the  words 
just  heard.  "  I  often  think  of  her  as  thou  hast  de 
scribed,  nor  do  I  now  see  why  we  may  not  still  be 
lieve  her,  if  she  yet  live,  all  that  we  could  desire 
to  see." 

"  That  cannot  be — The  delusion  is  gone,  and  in 
its  place  a  frightful  truth  has  visited  me.  Here  is 
Whittal  Ring,  whom  we  lost  a  boy ;  thou  seest  he 
is  returned  a  man,  and  a  savage  I  No,  no ;  my  sister 
is  no  longer  the  child  I  loved  to  think  her,  but  one 
grown  into  the  estate  of  womanhood." 

"Thou  thinkest  of  her  unkindly,  while  thou 
thinkest  of  others  far  less  endowed  by  nature  with 
too  much  indulgence;  for  thou  rememberest,  Mark, 
she  was  ever  of  more  pleasing  aspect  than  any  that 
we  knew." 

"I  know  not  that — I  say  not  that — I  think  not 
that.  But  be  she  wha ;  hardships  and  exposure  may 
have  made  her,  still  must  Ruth  Heathcote  be  far 
too  good  for  an  Indian  wigwam.  Oh  !  'tis  horrible 


OP    WISH-TON- WISH.  315 

to  believe  that  she  is  the  bond- woman,  the  servitor, 
the  wife  of  a  savage  !" 

Martha  recoiled,  and  an  entire  minute  passed, 
during  which  she  made  no  reply.  It  was  evident 
that  the  revolting  idea  for  the  first  time  crossed  her 
mind,  and  all  the  natural  feelings  of  gratified  and 
maiden  pride  vanished  before  the  genuine  and  pure 
sympathies  of  a  female  bosom. 

"This  cannot  be,"  she  at  length  murmured — "it 
can  never  be !  Our  Ruth  must  still  remember  the 
lessons  taught  her  in  infancy.  She  knoweth  she  is 
born  of  Christian  lineage !  of  reputable  name !  of 
exalted  hope  !  of  glorious  promise  !" 

"Thou  seest  by  the  manner  of  Whittal,  who  is  of 
greater  age,  how  little  of  that  taught,  can  with 
stand  the  wily  savage." 

"But  Whittal  faileth  of  Nature's  gifts;  he  hath 
ever  been  below  the  rest  of  men  in  understanding." 

"  And  yet  to  what  degree  of  Indian  cunning  hath 
he  already  attained !" 

"  But  Mark,"  rejoined  his  companion,  timidly,  >as 
if,  while  she  felt  all  its  force,  she  only  consented  to 
urge  the  argument  in  tenderness  to  the  harassed 
feelings  of  the  brother,  "we  are  of  equal  years; 
that  which  hath  happened  to  me,  may  well  have 
been  the  fortune  of  our  Ruth." 

"Dost  mean  that  being  unespoused  thyself,  or 
that  having,  at  thy  years,  inclinations  that  are  free, 
my  sister  may  have  escaped  the  bitter  curse  of 
being  the  wife  of  a  Narragansett,  or  what  is  not 
less  frightful,  the  slave  of  his  humors?" 

"Truly,  I  mean  little  else  than  the  former." 

"And  not  the  latter,"  continued  the  young  man, 
with  a  quickness  that  showed  some  sudden  revolu 
tion  in  his  thoughts.  "But  though  with  opinions 
that  are  decided,  and  with  kindness  awakened  in 
behalf  of  one  favored,  thou  hesitatest,  Martha,  it  is 
not  like  that  a  girl  left  in  the  fetters  of  savage  life 


316  THE    WEPT 

'would  so  long  pause  to  think.  Even  here  in  the  set 
tlements,  all  are  not  difficult  of  judgment  as  thou!" 

The  long  lashes  vibrated  above  the  dark  eyes  of 
the  maiden,  and,  for  an  instant,  it  seemed  as  if  she 
had  no  intention  to  reply.  But  looking  timidly  aside, 
she  answered  in  a  voice  so  low,  that  her  companion 
scarcely  gathered  the  meaning  of  that  she  uttered. 

"  I  know  not  how  I  may  have  earned  this  false 
character  among  my  friends,"  she  said ;  "  for  to  me 
it  ever  seemeth  that  what  I  feel  and  think  is  but 
too  easily  known." 

"  Then  is  the  smart  gallant  from  the  Hartford 
town,  who  cometh  and  goeth  so  often  between  this 
distant  settlement  and  his  father's  house,  better  as 
sured  of  his  success  than  I  had  thought.  He  will 
not  journey  the  long  road  much  oftener,  alone !" 

"I  have  angered  thee,  Mark,  or  thou  wouldst  not 
speak  with  so  cold  an  eye,  to  one  who  hath  ever 
lived  with  thee  in  kindness." 

"  I  do  not  speak  in  anger,  for  'twould  be  both  un 
reasonable  and  unmanly  to  deny  all  of  thy  sex  right 
of  choice;  but  yet  it  doth  seem  right,  that,  when 
taste  is  suited  and  judgment  appeased,  there  should 
be  little  motive  for  withholding  speech." 

**  And  wouldst  thou  have  a  maiden,  of  my  years, 
in  haste  to  believe  that  she  was  sought,  when  haply 
it  may  be,  that  he  of  whom  you  speak  is  in  quest 
of  thy  society  and  friendship,  rather  than  of  my 
favor?" 

"Then  might  he  spare  much  labor  and  some 
bodily  suffering,  unless  he  finds  great  pleasure  in 
the  saddle ;  for  I  know  not  a  youth  in  the  Connecti 
cut  Colony,  for  whom  I  have  smaller  esteem.  Others 
may  see  matter  of  approval  in  him,  but,  to  me,  he 
is  of  bold  speech,  ungainly  air,  and  great  disagree- 
ableness  of  discourse." 

"  I  am  happy  that  at  last  we  find  ourselves  of  one 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  3.17 

mind ;  for  that,  thou  say'st  of  the  youth,  is  much  as 
I  have  long  considered  him." 

"Thou!  Thou  thinkest  of  the  gallant  thus!  Then 
why  dost  listen  to  his  suit  ?  I  had  believed  thee  a 
girl  too  honest,  Martha,  to  affect  such  niceties  of 
deception.  With  this  opinion  of  his  character,  why 
not  refuse  his  company  ?" 

"  Can  a  maiden  speak  too  hastily  ?" 

"  And  if  here,  and  ready  to  ask  thy  favor,  the 
answer  would  be " 

"  No !"  said  the  girl,  raising  her  eyes  for  an  in 
stant,  and  bashfully  meeting  the  eager  look  of  her 
companion,  though  she  uttered  the  monosyllable 
firmly. 

Mark  seemed  bewildered.  An  entirely  new  and 
a  novel  idea  took  possession  of  his  brain.  The 
change  was  apparent  by  his  altering  countenance, 
and  a  cheek  that  glowed  like  flame.  What  he 
might  have  said,  most  of  our  readers  over  fifteen 
may  presume ;  but,  at  that  moment,  the  voices  of 
those  who  had  accompanied  Whittal  to  the  ruin 
were  heard  on  their  return,  and  Martha  glided  away 
so  silently  as  to  leave  him  for  a  moment  ignorant 
of  her  absence. 

27* 


318  THE    WEPT 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


"  Oh !  when  amid  the  throngs  of  men 
The  heart  grows  sick  of  hollow  mirth, 
How  willingly  we  turn  us,  then. 
Away  from  this  cold  earth ; 
And  look  into  thy  azure  breast, 
For  seats  of  innocence  and  rest1*' 

BRY ANT'S  Skies, 


THE  day  was  the  Sabbath.  This  religious  fes 
tival,  which  is  even  now  observed  in  most  of  the 
States  of  the  Union  with  a  strictness  that  is  little 
heeded  in  the  rest  of  Christendom,  was  then  rever 
enced  with  a  severity  suited  to  the  austere  habits 
of  the  Colonists.  The  circumstance  that  one  should 
journey  on  such  a  day,  had  attracted  the  observa 
tion  of  all  in  the  hamlet ;  but,  as  the  stranger  had 
been  seen  to  ride  towards  the  dwelling  of  the  Heath- 
cotes,  and  the  times  were  known  to  teem  with  more 
than  ordinary  interests  to  the  Province,  it  was  be 
lieved  that  he  found  his  justification  in  some  apology 
of  necessity.  Still,  none  ventured  forth  to  inquire 
into  the  motive  of  this  extraordinary  visit.  At  the 
end  of  an  hour,  the  horseman  was  seen  to  depart 
as  he  had  arrived,  seemingly  urged  on  by  the  calls 
of  some  pressing  emergency.  He  had  in  truth  pro 
ceeded  further  with  his  tidings,  though  the  lawful 
ness  of  discharging  even  this  imperious  duty  on  the 
Sabbath  had  been  gravely  considered  in  the  Coun 
cils  of  those  who  had  sent  him.  Happily  they  had 
found,  or  thought  they  had  found,  in  some  of  the 
narratives  of  the  sacred  volume,  a  sufficient  prece 
dent  to  bid  their  messenger  proceed. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  unusual  excitement,  which 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  310 

had  been  so  unexpectedly  awakened  in  the  dwelling 
of  the  Heathcotes,  began  to  subside  in  that  quiet 
•which  is  in  so  beautiful  accordance  with  the  sacred 
character  of  the  day.  The  sun  rose  bright  and 
cloudless  above  the  hills,  every  vapor  of  the  past 
night  melting  before  his  genial  warmth  into  the  in 
visible  element.  The  valley  then  lay  in  that  spe 
cies  of  holy  calm  which  conveys  so  sweet  and  so 
forcible  an  appeal  to  the  heart.  The  world  pre 
sented  a  picture  of  the  glorious  handywork  of  him 
who  seems  to  invite  the  gratitude  and  adoration  of 
his  creatures.  To  the  mind  yet  untainted,  there  is 
exquisite  loveliness  and  even  godlike  repose  in  such 
a  scene.  The  universal  stillness  permits  the  softest 
natural  sounds  to  be  heard;  and  the  buzz  of  the 
bee,  or  the  wing  of  the  humming-bird,  reaches  the 
ear  like  the  loud  notes  of  a  general  anthem.  This 
temporary  repose  is  full  of  meaning.  It  should 
teach  how  much  »ef  the  beauty  of  this  world's  en 
joyments,  how  much  -of  its  peace,  and  even  how 
much  of  the  comeliness  of  nature  itself,  is  depend 
ent  on  the  spirit  by  which  we  are  actuated.  When 
man  reposes,  all  around  him  seems  anxious  to  con 
tribute  to  his  rest ;  and  when  he  abandons  the  con 
tentions  of  grosser  interests,  to  elevate  his  spirit,  all 
living  things  appear  to  unite  in  worship.  Although 
this  apparent  sympathy  of  nature  may  be  less  true 
than  imaginative,  its  lesson  is  not  destroyed,  since  it 
sufficiently  shows  that  what  man  chooses  to  consider 
good  in  this  world  is  good,  and  that  most  of  its  strife 
and  deformities  proceed  from  his  own  perversity. 

The  tenants  of  the  valley  of  the  Wish-Ton-Wish 
were  little  wont  to  disturb  the  quiet  of  the  Sabbath. 
Their  error  lay  in  the  other  extreme,  since  they 
impaired  the  charities  «f  life  by  endeavoring  to 
raise  man  altogether  above  the  weakness  of  his  na 
ture.  They  substituted  the  revolting  aspect  of  a 
sublimated  austerity,  for  that  gracious  though  regu- 


320  THE    WEPT 

lated  exterior,  by  which  all  in  the  body  may  best 
illustrate  their  hopes  or  exhibit  their  gratitude. 
The  peculiar  air  of  those  of  whom  we  write  was 
generated  by  the  error  of  the  times  and  of  the 
country,  though  something  of  its  singularly  rigid 
character  might  have  been  derived  from  the  pre 
cepts  and  example  of  the  individual  who  had  the 
direction  of  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  parish.  As 
this  person  will  have  further  connexion  with  the 
matter  of  the  legend,  he  shall  be  more  familiarly 
introduced  in  its  pages. 

The  Reverend  Meek  Wolfe  was,  in  spirit,  a  rare 
combination  of  the  humblest  self-abasement  and  of 
fierce  spiritual  denunciation.  Like  so  many  others 
of  his  sacred  calling  in  the  Colony  he  inhabited,  he 
was  not  only  the  descendant  of  a  line  of  priests,  but 
it  was  his  greatest  earthly  hope  that  he  should  also 
become  the  progenitor  of  a  race  in  whom  the  min 
istry  was  to  be  perpetuated  as  severely  as  if  the 
regulated  formula  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation  were 
still  in  existence.  He  had  been  educated  in  the  in 
fant  college  of  Harvard,  an  institution  that  the  emi 
grants  from  England  had  the  wisdom  and  enterprise 
to  found,  within  the  first  five-and-twenty  years  of 
their  colonial  residence.  Here  this  scion  of  so  pious 
and  orthodox  a  stock  had  abundantly  qualified  him 
self  for  the  intellectual  warfare  of  his  future  life, 
by  regarding  one  set  of  opinions  so  steadily,  as  to 
leave  little  reason  to  apprehend  he  would  ever  aban 
don  the  most  trifling  of  the  outworks  of  his  faith. 
No  citadel  ever  presented  a  more  hopeless  curtain 
to  the  besieger,  than  did  the  mind  of  this  zealot  to 
the  efforts  of  conviction ;  for  on  the  side  of  his  op 
ponents,  he  contrived  that  every  avenue  should  be 
closed  by  a  wall  blank  as  indomitable  obstinacy 
could  oppose.  He  appeared  to  think  that  all  the 
minor  conditions  of  argument  and  reason  had  beec 
disposed  of  by  his  ancestors,  and  that  it  only  remain 


OP   WISH-TON-WISH.  321 

ed  for  him  to  strengthen  the  many  defences  of  his 
subject,  and,  now  and  then,  to  scatter  by  a  fierce 
sortie  the  doctrinal  skirmishers  who  might  occasion 
ally  approach  his  parish.  There  was  a  remarkable 
singleness  of  mind  in  this  religionist,  which,  while  it 
in  some  measure  rendered  even  his  bigotry  respect 
able,  greatly  aided  in  clearing  the  knotty  subject, 
with  which  he  dealt,  of  much  embarrassing  matter. 
In  his  eyes,  the  strait  and  narrow  path  would  hold 
but  few  besides  his  own  flock.  He  admitted  some 
fortuitous  exceptions,  in  one  or  two  of  the  nearest 
parishes,  with  whose  clergymen  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  exchanging  pulpits ;  and  perhaps,  here  and  there, 
in  a  saint  of  the  other  hemisphere,  or  of  the  more 
distant  towns  of  the  Colonies,  the  brightness  of  whose 
faith  was  something  aided,  in  his  eyes,  by  distance, 
as  this  opake  globe  of  ours  is  thought  to  appear  a 
ball  of  light  to  those  who  inhabit  its  satellite.  In 
short,  there  was  an  admixture  of  seeming  charity 
with  an  exclusiveness  of  hope,  an  unweariness  of 
exertion  with  a  coolness  of  exterior,  a  disregard  of 
self  with  the  most  complaisant  security,  and  an  un 
complaining  submission  to  temporal  evils  with  the 
loftiest  spiritual  pretensions,  that  in  some  measure 
rendered  him  a  man  as  difficult  to  comprehend  as  to 
describe. 

At  an  early  hour  in  the  forenoon,  a  little  bell, 
that  was  suspended  in  an  awkward  belfry  perched 
on  the  roof  of  the  meeting-house,  began  to  summon 
the  congregation  to  the  place  of  worship.  The  call 
was  promptly  obeyed,  and  ere  the  first  notes  had 
reached  the  echoes  of  the  hills,  the  wide  and  grassy 
street  was  covered  with  family  groups,  all  taking 
the  same  direction.  Foremost  in  each  little  party 
walked  the  austere  father,  perhaps  bearing  on  his 
arm  a  suckled  infant,  or  some  child  yet  too  young 
to  sustain  its  own  weight ;  while  at  a  decent  dis 
tance  followed  the  equally  grave  matron,  casting 


322  THE    WEf  T 

oblique  and  severe  glances  at  the  little  troop  around 
her>  in  whom  acquired  habits  had  yet  some  con 
quests  to  obtain  over  the  lighter  impulses  of  vanity. 
Where  there  was  no  child  to  need  support,  or  where 
the  mother  chose  to  assume  the  office  of  bearing  her 
infant  in  person,  the  man  was  seen  to  carry  one  of 
the  heavy  muskets  of  the  day ;  and  when  his  arms 
were  otherwise  employed,  the  stoutest  of  his  boys 
served  in  the  capacity  of  armor-bearer.  But  in  no 
instance  was  this  needful  precaution  neglected,  the 
state  of  the  Province  and  the  character  of  the  ene 
my  requiring  that  vigilance  should  mingle  even  with 
their  devotions.  There  was  no  loitering  on  the  path, 
no  light  and  worldly  discourse  by  the  way,  nor  even 
any  salutations,  other  than  those  grave  and  serious 
recognitions  by  hat  and  eye,  which  usage  tolerated 
as  the  utmost  limit  of  courtesy  on  the  weekly  fes 
tival. 

When  the  bell  changed  its  tone,  Meek  appeared 
from  the  gate  of  the  fortified  house,  where  he  re 
sided,  in  quality  of  castellan,  on  account  of  its  public 
character,  its  additional  security,  and  the  circum 
stance  that  his  studious  habits  permitted  him  to  dis 
charge  the  trust  with  less  waste  of  manual  labor 
than  it  would  cost  the  village  were  the  responsible 
office  confided  to  one  of  more  active  habits.  His 
consort  followed,  but  at  even  a  greater  distance 
than  that  taken  by  the  wives  of  other  men,  as  if  she 
felt  the  awful  necessity  of  averting  even  the  re 
motest  possibility  of  scandal  from  one  of  so  sacred 
a  profession.  Nine  offspring  of  various  ages,  and 
one  female  assistant,  of  years  too  tender  to  be  a 
wife  herself,  composed  the  household  of  the  divine ; 
and  it  was  a  proof  of  the  salubrious  air  of  the  val 
ley  that  all  were  present,  since  nothing  but  illness 
was  ever  deemed  a  sufficient  excuse  for  absence 
from  the  common  worship.  As  this  little  flock  issued 
from  the  palisadoes,  a  female,  in  whose  pale  cheek 


OF    WISH-TO  N-WISH. 


the  effects  of  recent  illness  might  yet  he  traced,  held 
open  the  gate  for  the  entrance  of  Reuben  Ring,  and 
a  stout  youth,  who  bore  the  prolific  consort  of  the 
former,  with  her  bounteous  gift,  into  the  citadel  of 
the  village;  a  place  of  refuge  that  nothing  but  the 
undaunted  resolution  of  the  woman  prevented  her 
from  occupying  before,  since  more  than  half  of  the 
children  of  the  valley  had  first  seen  the  light  within 
the  security  of  its  defences. 

The  family  of  Meek  preceded  him  into  the  tem 
ple,  and  when  the  feet  of  the  minister  himself  crossed 
its  threshold,  there  was  no  human  form  visible  with 
out  its  walls.  The  bell  ceased  its  monotonous  and 
mournful  note,  and  the  tall,  gaunt  form  of  the  divine 
moved  through  the  narrow  aisle  to  its  usual  post, 
with  the  air  of  one  who  had  already  more  than 
half  rejected  the  burthen  of  bodily  encumbrance. 
A  searching  and  stern  glance  was  thrown  around, 
as  if  he  possessed  an  instinctive  power  to  detect  all 
delinquents;  and  then  seating  himself,  the  deep 
stillness,  that  always  preceded  the  exercises,  reigned 
in  the  place. 

When  the  divine  next  showed  his  austere  counte 
nance  to  his  expecting  people,  its  meaning  was  ex 
pressive  rather  of  some  matter  of  worldly  import, 
than  of  that  absence  of  carnal  interest  with  which 
he  usually  strove  to  draw  near  to  his  Creator  in 
prayer. 

"  Captain  Content  Heathcote,"  he  said  with  grave 
severity,  after  permitting  a  short  pause  to  awaken 
reverence,  "  there  has  one  ridden  through  this  val 
ley  on  the  Lord's  day,  making  thy  habitation  his 
halting-place.  Hath  the  traveller  warranty  for  this 
disrespect  of  the  Sabbath,  and  canst  thou  find  suffi 
cient  reason  in  his  motive,  for  permitting  the  stran 
ger  within  thy  gates  to  neglect  the  solemn  ordinance 
delivered  on  the  mount  ?" 

"  He  rideth  on  especial  commission,"  ouswered 


324  THE    WEPT 

Content,  who  had  respectfully  arisen,  when  thus 
addressed  by  name;  "for  matter  of  grave  interest 
to  the  well-being  of  the  Colony  is  contained  in  the 
subject  of  his  errand." 

"  There  is  nought  more  deeply  connected  with 
the  well-being  of  man,  whether  resident  in  this 
Colony  or  in  more  lofty  empires,  than  reverence  to 
God's  declared  will,"  returned  Meek,  but  half-ap 
peased  by  the  apology.  "  It  would  have  been  expe 
dient  for  one,  who,  in  common,  not  only  setteth  so 
good  an  example  himself,  but  who  is  also  charged 
with  the  mantle  of  authority,  to  have  looked  with 
distrust  into  the  pretences  of  a  necessity  that  may 
be  only  seeming." 

"  The  motive  shall  be  declared  to  the  people,  at 
a  fitting  moment ;  but  it  hath  seemed  more  wise  to 
retain  the  substance  of  the  horseman's  errand,  until 
worship  hath  been  offered,  without  the  alloy  of 
temporal  concerns." 

"  Therein  hast  thou  acted  discreetly ;  for  a  di 
vided  mind  giveth  but  little  joy  above.  I  hope  there 
is  equal  reason  why  all  of  thy  household  are  not 
with  thee  in  the  temple  ?" 

Notwithstanding  the  usual  self-command  of  Con 
tent,  he  did  not  revert  to  this  subject  without  emo 
tion.  Casting  a  subdued  glance  at  the  empty  seat 
where  -she  whom  he  so  much  loved  was  wont  to 
worship  at  his  side,  he  said,  in  a  voice  that  evident 
ly  struggled  to  maintain  its  customary  equanimity — 

"  There  has  been  powerful  interest  awakened 
beneath  my  roof  this  day ;  and  it  may  be  that  the 
duty  of  the  Sabbath  has  been  overlooked  by  minds 
so  exercised.  If  we  have  therein  sinned,  I  hope 
he  that  looketh  kindly  on  the  penitent  will  forgive  i 
She,  of  whom  thou  speakest,  hath  been  shaken  by 
the  violence  of  griefs  renewed ;  though  willing  in 
spirit,  a  feeble  and  sinking  frame  is  not  equal  to 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  325 

support  the  fatigue  of  appearing  here,  even  though 
it  be  the  house  of  God/' 

This  extraordinary  exercise  of  pastoral  authority 
was  uninterrupted,  even  by  the  breathings  of  the 
congregation.  Any  incident  of  an  unusual  character 
had  attraction  for  the  inhabitants  of  a  village  so 
remote ;  but  here  was  deep,  domestic  interest,  con 
nected  with  breach  of  usage  and  indeed  of  law, 
and  all  heightened  by  that  secret  influence  that 
leads  us  to  listen,  with  singular  satisfaction,  to  those 
emotions  in  others,  which  it  is  believed  to  be  natu 
ral  to  wish  to  conceal.  Not  a  syllable  that  fell  from 
the  lips  of  the  divine,  or  of  Content,  not  a  deep 
tone  of  severity  in  the  former,  nor  a  struggling  ac 
cent  of  the  latter,  escaped  the  dullest  ear  in  that 
assembly.  Notwithstanding  the  grave  and  regulated 
air  that  was  common  to  all,  it  is  needless  to  say 
there  was  pleasure  in  the  little  interruption  of  this 
scene ;  which,  however,  was  far  from  being  extra 
ordinary  in  a  community  where  it  was  not  only  be 
lieved  that  spiritual  authority  might  extend  itself 
to  the  most  familiar  practices,  but  where  few  do 
mestic  interests  were  deemed  so  exclusive,  or  indi 
vidual  feelings  considered  so  sacred,  that  a  very 
large  proportion  of  the  whole  neighborhood  might 
not  claim  a  right  to  participate  largely  in  both. 
The  Reverend  Mr.  Wolfe  was  appeased  by  the  ex 
planation,  and  after  allowing  a  sufficient  time  to 
elapse,  in  order  that  the  minds  of  the  congregation 
should  recover  their  tone,  he  proceeded  with  the 
regular  services  of  the  morning. 

It  is  needless  to  recount  the  well-known  manner 
oi  the  religious  exercises  of  the  Puritans.  Enough 
of  their  forms  and  of  their  substance  has  been 
transmitted  to  us,  to  render  both  manner  and  doc 
trine  familiar  to  most  of  our  readers.  We  shall 
therefore  confine  our  duty  to  a  relation  of  such  por 
tions  of  the  ceremonies,  if  that  which  sedulously 
28 


326  THE    WEPT 

avoided  every  appearance  of  form  can  thus  be 
termed,  as  have  an  immediate  connexion  with  the 
incidents. 

The  divine  had  gone  through  the  short  opening 
prayer,  had  read  the  passage  of  holy  writ,  had 
given  out  the  verses  of  the  psalm,  and  had  joined 
in  the  strange  nasal  melody  with  which  his  flock 
endeavored  to  render  it  doubly  acceptable,  and  had 
ended  his  long  and  fervent  wrestling  of  the  spirit  in 
a  colloquial  petition  of  some  forty  minutes'  duration^ 
in  which  direct  allusion  had  been  made  not  only  to 
the  subject  of  his  recent  examination,  but  to  divers 
other  familiar  interests  of  his  parishioners ;  and  all 
without  any  departure  from  the  usual  zeal  on  his 
own  part,  or  of  the  customary  attention  and  grave 
decorum  on  that  of  his  people.  But  when,  for  the 
second  time,  he  arose  to  read  another  song  of  wor 
ship  and  thanksgiving,  a  form  was  seen  in  the  centre 
or  principal  aisle,  that,  as  well  by  its  attire  and  as 
pect,  as  by  the  unusual  and  irreverent  tardiness  of 
its  appearance,  attracted  general  observation.  In 
terruptions  of  this  nature  were  unfrequent,  and 
even  the  long  practised  and  abstracted  minister 
paused,  for  an  instant,  ere  he  proceeded  with  the 
hymn,  though  there  was  a  suspicion  current  among 
the  more  instructed  of  his  parishioners,  that  the 
sonorous  version  was  an  effusion  of  his  own  muse. 

The  intruder  was  Whittal  Ring.  The  witless 
young  man  had  strayed  from  the  abode  of  his  sister, 
and  found  his  way  into  that  general  receptacle, 
where  most  of  the  village  was  congregated.  During 
his  former  residence  in  the  valley,  there  had  been 
no  temple;  and  the  edifice,  its  interior  arrangements, 
the  faces  of  those  it  contained,  and  the  business  on 
which  they  had  assembled,  appeared  alike  strangers 
to  him.  It  was  only  when  the  people  lifted  up  their 
voices  in  the  song  of  praise,  that  some  glimmerings 
of  his  ancient  recollections  were  discoverable  in  his 


OF   WlSfi-TON-WISH.  327 

inactive  countenance.  Then,  indeed,  he  Defrayed 
a  portion  of  the  delight  which  powerful  sounds  can 
quicken,  even  in  beings  of  his  unhappy  mental  con 
struction.  As  he  was  satisfied*  however,  to  remain 
in  a  retired  part  of  the  aisle*  listening  with  dull 
admiration,  even  the  grave  Ensign  Dudley,  whose 
eye  had  once  or  twice  seemed  ominous  of  dis 
pleasure,  saw  no  necessity  for  interference. 

Meek  had  chosen  for  his  text,  on  that  day,  a 
passage  from  the  book  of  Judges :  "  And  the  children 
of  Israel  did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord ;  and  the 
Lord  delivered  them  into  the  hands  of  Midian  seven 
years."  With  this  text  the  subtle-minded  divine 
dealt  powerfully,  entering  largely  into  the  mys 
terious  and  allegorical  allusions  then  so  much  in 
vogue.  In  whatever  manner  he  viewed  the  subject, 
he  found  reason  to  liken  the  suffering,  bereaved  and 
yet  chosen  dwellers  of  the  Colonies,  to  the  race  of 
the  Hebrews.  If  they  were  not  set  apart  and  marked 
from  all  others  of  the  earth,  in  order  that  one 
mightier  than  man  should  spring  from  their  loins, 
they  were  led  into  that  distant  wilderness,  far  from 
the  temptations  of  licentious  luxury,  or  the  worldly- 
mindedness  of  those  who  built  their  structure  of 
faith  on  the  sands  of  temporal  honors,  to  preserve 
the  word  in  purity.  As  there  appeared  no  reason 
on  the  part  of  the  divine  himself  to  distrust  this 
construction  of  the  words  he  had  quoted,  so  it  was 
evident  that  most  of  his  listeners  willingly  lent  their 
ears  to  so  soothing  an  argument. 

In  reference  to  Midian,  the  preacher  was  far  less 
explicit.  That  the  great  father  of  evil  was  in  some 
way  intended  by  this  allusion,  could  not  be  doubted; 
but  in  what  manner  the  chosen  inhabitants  of  those 
regions  were  to  feel  his  malign  influence,  was  matter 
of  more  uncertainty.  At  times,  the  greedy  ears  of 
those  who  had  long  been  wrought  up  into  the  im 
pression  that  visible  manifestations  of  the  anger  or 


328  THE    WEPT 

of  the  love  of  Providence  were  daily  presented  to 
their  eyes,  were  flattered  with  the  stern  joy  of 
believing  that  the  war  which  then  raged  around 
them  was  intended  to  put  their  moral  armor  to  the 
proof,  and  that  out  of  the  triumph  of  their  victories 
were  to  flow  honor  and  security  to  the  church. 
Then  came  ambiguous  qualifications,  which  left 
it  questionable  whether  a  return  of  the  invisible 
powers,  that  had  been  known  to  be  so  busy  in  the 
Provinces,  were  not  the  judgment  intended.  It  is 
not  to  be  supposed  that  Meek  himself  had  the 
clearest  mental  intelligence  on  a  point  of  this  sub 
tlety,  for  there  was  something  of  misty  hallucina 
tion  in  the  manner  in  which  he  treated  it,  as  will 
be  seen  by  his  closing  words. 

"To  imagine  that  Azazel  regardeth  the  long 
suffering  and  stedfastness  of  a  chosen  people  with 
a  pleasant  eye,"  he  said,  "  is  to  believe  that  the 
marrow  of  righteousness  can  exist  in  the  carrion  of 
deceit.  We  have  already  seen  his  envious  spirit 
raging  in  many  tragical  instances.  If  required  to 
raise  a  warning  beacon  to  your  eyes,  by  which  the 
presence  of  this  treacherous  enemy  might  be  known, 
I  should  say,  in  the  words  of  one  learned  and  in 
genious  in  this  craftiness,  that,  '*  when  a  person,  hav 
ing  full  reason,  doth  knowingly  and  wittingly  seek 
and  obtain  of  the  Devil,  or  any  other  God  besides 
the  true  God  Jehovah,  an  ability  to  do  or  know 
strange  things,  which  he  cannot  by  his  own  human 
abilities  arrive  unto,'  that  then  he  may  distrust  his 
gifts  and  tremble  for  his  soul.  And,  oh !  my  brethren, 
how  many  of  ye  cling  at  this  very  moment  to  those 
tragical  delusions,  and  worship  the  things  of  the 
world,  instead  of  fattening  on  the  famine  of  the 
desert,  which  is  the  sustenance  of  them  that  would 
live  for  ever!  Lift  your  eyes  upward,  my  breth 
ren " 

"  Rather  turn  them  to  the  earth !"  interrupted  a 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  ?>29 

deep,  authoritative  voice  from  the  body  of  the 
church;  "there  is  present  need  of  all  your  faculties 
to  save  life,  and  even  to  guard  the  tabernacle  oi  the 
Lord !" 

Religious  exercises  composed  the  recreation  of 
the  dwellers  in  that  distant  settlement.  When  they 
met  in  companies  to  lighten  the  load  of  life,  prayer 
and  songs  of  praise  were  among  the  usual  indul 
gences  of  the  entertainment.  To  them,  a  sermon 
was  like  a  gay  scenic  exhibition  in  other  and  vainer 
communities,  and  none  listened  to  the  word  with 
cold  and  inattentive  ears.  In  literal  obedience  to 
the  command  of  the  preacher,  and  sympathizing 
with  his  own  action,  every  eye  in  the  congregation 
had  been  turned  towards  the  naked  rafters  of  the 
roof,  when  the  unknown  tones  of  him  who  spoke 
broke  the  momentary  delusion.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that,  by  a  common  movement,  they  sought  an  ex 
planation  of  this  extraordinary  appeal.  The  divine 
became  mute,  equally  with  wonder  and  with  in 
dignation. 

A  first  glance  was  enough  to  assure  all  present, 
that  new  and  important  interests  were  likely  to  be 
awakened.  A  stranger  of  grave  aspect,  and  of  a 
calm  but  understanding  eye,  stood  at  the  side  of 
Whittal  Ring.  His  attire  was  of  the  simple  guise 
and  homely  materials  of  the  country.  Still  he  bore 
about  his  person  enough  of  the  equipments  of  one 
familiar  with  the  wars  of  the  eastern  hemisphere, 
to  strike  the  senses.  His  hand  was  armed  with  a 
shining  broadsword,  such  as  were  then  used  by  the 
cavaliers  of  England,  and  at  his  back  was  slung  the 
short  carabine  of  one  who  battled  in  the  saddle. 
His  mien  was  dignified  and  even  commanding,  and 
there  was  no  second  look  necessary  to  show  that  he 
was  an  intruder  of  a  character  altogether  different 
from  the  moping  innocent  at  his  side. 

"  Why  is  one  of  an  unknown  countenance  come 
28* 


830  THE    WEPT 

to  disturb  the  worship  of  the  temple  ?"  demanded 
Meek,  when  astonishment  permitted  utterance. 
-*  Thrice  hath  this  holy  day  been  profaned  by  the 
foot  of  the  stranger,  and  well  may  it  be  doubted 
whether  we  live  not  under  an  evil  agency." 

"  Arm,  men  of  the  Wish-Ton-Wish !  arm,  and  to 
your  defences !" 

A  cry  arose  without,  that  seemed  to  circle  the 
whole  valley ;  and  then  a  thousand  whoops  rolled 
out  of  the  arches  of  the  forest,  and  appeared  to 
meet  in  one  hostile  din  above  the  devoted  hamlet. 
These  were  sounds  that  had  been  too  often  heard, 
or  too  often  described,  not  to  be  generally  understood. 
A  scene  of  wild  confusion  followed. 

Each  man,  on  entering  the  church,  had  deposited 
his  arms  at  the  door,  and  thither  most  of  the  stout 
borderers  were  now  seen  hastening,  to  resume  their 
weapons.  Women  gathered  their  children  to  their 
sides,  and  the  wails  of  horror  and  alarm  were  be 
ginning  to  break  through  the  restraints  of  habit. 

"  Peace !"  exclaimed  the  pastor,  seemingly  ex 
cited  to  a  degree  above  human  emotion.  "  Ere  we 
go  forth,  let  there  be  a  voice  raised  to  our  heavenly 
Father.  The  asking  shall  be  as  a  thousand  men  of 
war  battling  in  our  behalf!" 

The  commotion  ceased  as  suddenly  as  if  a  man^ 
date  had  been  issued  from  that  place  to  which  their 
petition  was  to  be  addressed.  Even  the  stranger, 
who  had  regarded  the  preparations  with  a  stern  but 
anxious  eye,  bowed  his  head,  and  seemed  to  join  in 
the  prayer,  with  a  devoted  and  confiding  heart. 

"  Lord !"  said  Meek,  stretching  his  meagre  arms, 
with  the  palms  of  the  hands  open,  high  above  the 
heads  of  his  flock,  "  at  thy  bidding,  we  go  forth  ; 
with  thy  aid,  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail 
against  us ;  with  thy  mercy,  there  is  hope  in  heaven 
and  on  earth.  It  is  for  thy  tabernacle  that  we  shed 
blood ;  it  is  for  thy  word  that  we  contend.  Battle  in 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  331 

our  behalf,  King  of  Kings !  send  thy  heavenly  legions 
to  our  succor,  that  the  song  of  victory  may  be  in- 
cense  at  thy  altars,  and  a  foul  hearing  to  the  ears 
of  the  enemy — Amen." 

There  was  a  depth  in  the  voice  of  the  speaker,  a 
supernatural  calmness  in  the  tones,  and  so  great  a 
confidence  in  the  support  of  the  mighty  ally  im 
plored,  that  the  words  went  to  every  heart.  It  was 
impossible  that  Nature  should  not  be  powerful  with 
in,  but  a  high  and  exciting  enthusiasm  began  to  lift 
the  people  far  above  its  influence.  Thus  awakened 
by  an  appeal  to  feelings  that  had  never  slumbered, 
and  stimulated  by  all  the  moving  interests  of  life, 
the  men  of  the  valley  poured  out  of  the  temple  in 
defence  of  person  and  fire-side,  and,  as  they  believ 
ed,  of  religion  and  of  God. 

There  was  pressing  necessity,  not  only  for  this 
zeal,  but  for  all  the  physical  energies  of  the  stoutest 
of  their  numbers.  The  spectacle  that  met  the  view, 
on  issuing  into  the  open  air,  was  one  that  might  have 
appalled  the  hearts  of  warriors  more  practised,  and 
have  paralyzed  the  efforts  of  men  less  susceptible  to 
the  impressions  of  a  religious  excitement. 

Dark  forms  were  leaping  through  the  fields,  on 
the  hill-sides ;  and  all  adown  the  slopes  that  con 
ducted  to  the  valley,  armed  savages  were  seen  pour 
ing  madly  forward,  on  their  path  of  destruction  and 
vengeance.  Behind  them,  the  brand  and  the  knife 
had  been  already  used ;  for  the  log  tenement,  the 
Btacks  and  the  out-buildings  of  Reuben  Ring,  and 
of  several  others  who  dwelt  in  the  skirts  of  the  set 
tlement,  were  sending  forth  clouds  of  murky  smoke, 
in  which  forked  and  angry  flames  were  already 
flashing  fiercely.  But  danger  most  pressed  still 
nearer.  A  long  line  of  fierce  warriors  was  even  in 
the  meadows ;  and  in  no  direction  could  the  eye  be 
turned,  that  it  did  not  meet  with  the  appalling  proof 


332  THE    WEPT 

that  the  village  was  completely  surrounded  by  an 
overwhelming  superiority  of  force. 

"  To  the  garrison !"  shouted  some  of  the  foremost 
of  those  who  first  saw  the  nature  and  imminency  of 
the  danger,  pressing  forward  themselves  in  the  di 
rection  of  the  fortified  house.  "  To  the  garrison,  or 
we  are  lost  1" 

"  Hold !"  exclaimed  that  voice  which  was  so 
strange  to  the  ears  of  most  of  those  who  heard  it, 
but  which  spoke  in  a  manner  that  by  its  compass 
and  firmness  commanded  obedience.  "With  this 
mad  disorder,  we  are  truly  lost !  Let  Captain  Con 
tent  Heathcote  come  to  my  councils." 

Notwithstanding  the  tumult  and  confusion  which 
had  now  in  truth  begun  to  rage  fearfully  around 
him,  the  quiet  and  self-restrained  individual  to  whom 
the  legal  and  perhaps  moral  right  to  command  be 
longed,  had  lost  none  of  his  customary  composure. 
It  was  plain,  by  the  look  of  powerful  amazement 
with  which  he  had  at  first  regarded  the  stranger,  on 
his  sudden  interruption  of  the  service,  and  by  the 
glances  of  secret  intelligence  and  of  recognition 
they  exchanged,  that  they  had  met  before.  But 
this  was  no  time  for  greetings  or  explanations,  nor 
was  that  a  scene  in  which  to  waste  the  precious 
moments  in  useless  contests  about  opinions. 

"  I  am  here,"  said  he  who  was  thus  called  for ; 
"  ready  to  lead  whither  thy  prudence  and  experi 
ence  shall  point  the  way." 

"  Speak  to  the  people,  and  separate  the  combat 
ants  in  three  bodies  of  equal  strength.  One  shall 
press  forward  to  the  meadows,  and  beat  back  the 
savage,  ere  he  encircle  the  palisadoed  house ;  the 
second  shall  proceed  with  the  feeble  and  tender,  in 
their  flight  to  its  covers ;  and  with  the  third — but 
thou  knowest  that  which  I  would  do  with  the  third* 
Hasten,  or  we  lose  all  by  tardiness." 

It  was  perhaps  fortunate  that  orders  so  necessary 


or  WISH-TON-WISH.  333 

and  so  urgent  were  given  to  one  little  accustomed 
to  superfluity  of  speech.  Without  offering  either 
commendation  or  dissent,  Content  obeyed.  Accus 
tomed  to  his  authority,  and  conscious  of  the  critical 
situation  of  all  that  was  dear,  the  men  of  the  village 
yielded  an  obedience  more  prompt  and  effective 
than  it  is  usual  to  meet  in  soldiers  who  are  not  fa 
miliar  with  habits  of  discipline.  The  fighting  men 
were  quickly  separated  in  three  bodies,  consisting 
of  rather  more  than  a  score  of  combatants  in  each. 
One,  commanded  by  Eben  Dudley,  advanced  at 
quick  time  towards  the  meadows  in  the  rear  of  the 
fortress,  that  the  whooping  body  of  savages,  who 
were  already  threatening  to  cut  off  the  retreat  of 
the  women  and  children,  should  be  checked ;  while 
another  departed  in  a  nearly  opposite  direction, 
taking  the  street  of  the  hamlet,  for  the  purpose  of 
meeting  those  who  advanced  by  the  southern  en 
trance  of  the  valley.  The  third  and  last  of  these 
small  but  devoted  bodies,  remained  stationary,  in 
attendance  for  more  definite  orders. 

At  the  moment  when  the  first  of  these  little  di 
visions  of  force  was  ready  to  move,  the  divine  ap 
peared  in  its  front,  with  an  air  in  which  spiritual 
reliance  on  the  purposes  of  Providence,  and  some 
show  of  temporal  determination,  were  singularly 
united.  In  one  hand  he  bore  a  Bible,  which  he 
raised  on  high  as  the  sacred  standard  of  his  follow 
ers,  and  in  the  other  he  brandished  a  short  broad 
sword,  in  a  manner  that  proved  there  might  be 
danger  in  encountering  its  blade.  The  volume  was 
open,  and  at  brief  intervals  the  divine  read,  in  a 
high  and  excited  voice,  such  passages  as  accidentally 
met  his  eye,  the  leaves  blowing  about  in  a  manner 
to  produce  a  rather  remarkable  admixture  of  doc 
trine  and  sentiment.  But  to  these  trifling  moral  in 
congruities,  both  the  pastor  and  his  parishioners 
were  alike  indifferent;  their  subtle  mental  exer- 


334  THE    WEPT 

cises  having  given  birth  to  a  tendency  of  aptly  re 
conciling  all  seeming  discrepancies,  as  well  as  of  ac 
commodating  the  most  abstruse  doctrines  to  the  more 
familiar  interests  of  life. 

"  Israel  and  the  Philistines  had  put  their  battle 
in  array,  army  against  army,"  commenced  Meek,  as 
the  troop  he  Jed  began  its  advance.  Then,  reading 
at  short  intervals,  he  continued,  "  Behold,  I  will  do 
a  thing  in  Israel,  at  which  both  the  ears  of  every 
one  triat  heareth  it  shall  tingle." — "Oh  house  of 
Aaron,  trust  in  the  Lord ;  he  is  thy  help  and  thy 
shield."  "  Deliver  me,  O  Lord,  from  the  evil  man  ; 
preserve  me  from  the  violent  man." — "  Let  burning 
coals  fall  upon  them ;  let  them  be  cast  into  the  fire ; 
into  deep  pits,  that  they  rise  not  again." — "  Let  the 
wicked  fall  into  their  own  nets,  whilst  that  I,  withal, 
escape." — "  Therefore  doth  my  father  love  me,  be 
cause  I  lay  down  my  life,  that  I  may  take  it  again." 
— "  He  that  hateth  me,  hateth  my  father  also." — 
"  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they 
do." — "  They  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  an 
eye  for  an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth." — "For 
Joshua  drew  not  his  hand  back,  wherewith  he 
stretched  out  the  spear,  until  he  had  utterly  de 
stroyed  all  the  inhabitants  of  Ai "  Thus  far  the 

words  of  Meek  were  intelligible  to  those  who  re 
mained,  but  distance  soon  confounded  the  syllables. 
Then  nought  was  audible  but  the  yells  of  the  ene 
my,  the  tramp  of  the  men  who  pressed  in  the  rear 
of  the  priest,  with  a  display  of  military  pomp  as 
formidable  as  their  limited  means  would  allow,  and 
those  clear  high  tones,  which  sounded  in  the  ears 
and  quickened  the  blood  at  the  hearts  of  his  follow 
ers,  as  though  they  had  been  trumpet-blasts.  In  a 
few  more  minutes  the  little  band  was  scattered  be 
hind  the  covers  of  the  fields,  and  the  rattling  of  fire 
arms  succeeded  to  the  quaint  and  characteristic 
manner  of  their  march. 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  335 

While  this  movement  was  made  in  front,  the 
party  ordered  to  cover  the  village  was  not  idle. 
Commanded  by  a  sturdy  yeoman,  who  filled  the 
office  of  Lieutenant,  it  advanced  with  less  of  reli 
gious  display,  hut  with  equal  activity,  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  South;  and  the  sounds  of  contention 
were  quickly  heard,  proclaiming  both  the  urgency 
of  the  measure  and  the  warmth  of  the  conflict. 

In  the  mean  time,  equal  decision,  though  temper 
ed  by  some  circumstances  of  deep  personal  interest, 
was  displayed  by  those  who  had  been  left  in  front 
of  the  church.  As  soon  as  the  band  of  Meek  had 
got  to  such  a  distance  as  to  promise  security  to 
those  who  followed,  the  stranger  commanded  the 
children  to  be  led  towards  the  fortified  house.  This 
duty  was  performed  by  the  trembling  mothers, 
who  had  been  persuaded,  with  difficulty,  to  defer 
it  until  cooler  heads  should  pronounce  that  the 
proper  moment  had  come.  A  few  of  the  women 
dispersed  among  the  dwellings  in  quest  of  the  infirm, 
while  all  the  boys  of  proper  age  were  actively  em 
ployed  in  transporting  indispensable  articles  from 
the  village,  within  the  palisadoes.  As  these  several 
movements  were  simultaneous,  but  a  very  few 
minutes  elapsed  between  the  time  when  the  orders 
were  issued  and  the  moment  when  they  were  ac 
complished. 

"  I  had  intended  that  thou  shouldst  have  had  the 
charge  in  the  meadows,"  said  the  stranger  to  Con 
tent,  when  nought  remained  to  be  performed,  but 
that  which  had  been  reserved  for  the  last  of  the 
three  little  bands  of  fighting  men.  "But  as  the 
work  proceedeth  bravely  in  that  quarter,  we  will 
move  in  company.  Why  doth  this  maiden  tarry  1" 

"Truly  I  know  not,  unless  it  may  be  of  fear. 
There  is  an  opening  for  thy  passage  into  the  fort, 
Martha,  with  others  of  thy  sex." 

"I  will  follow  the   fighters  that  are   about   to 


336  THE    WEPT 

march  to  the  rescue  of  them  that  remain  in  our 
habitation,"  said  the  girl,  in  a  low  but  steady  voice. 

"And  how  know'st  thou  that  such  is  the  service 
intended  for  those  here  arrayed?'  demanded  the 
stranger,  with  a  little  show  of  displeasure  that  his 
military  purposes  should  have  been  anticipated. 

"I  see  it  in  the  countenances  of  them  that  tarry," 
returned  the  other,  gazing  furtively  towards  Mark 
who,  posted  in  the  little  line,  could  with  difficulty 
brook  a  delay  which  threatened  his  father's  house, 
and  those  whom  it  held,  with  so  much  jeopardy. 

"Forward!"  cried  the  stranger.  "Here  is  no 
leisure  for  dispute.  Let  the  maiden  take  wisdom, 
and  hasten  to  the  fort.  Follow,  men  stout  of  heart ! 
or  we  come  too  late  to  the  succor." 

Martha  waited  until  the  party  had  advanced  a 
few  paces,  and  then,  instead  of  obeying  the  repeat 
ed  mandate  to  consult  her  personal  safety,  she  took 
the  direction  of  the  armed  band. 

"I  fear  me  that  'twill  exceed  our  strength,"  ob 
served  the  stranger,  who  marched  in  front  at  the 
side  of  Content,  "to  make  good  the  dwelling,  at  so 
great  distance  from  further  aid." 

"And  yet  the  visitation  will  be  heavy,  that  shall 
drive  us  for  a  second  time  to  the  fields  for  a  resting- 
place.  In  what  manner  didst  get  warning  of  this 
inroad?" 

"The  savages  believed  themselves  concealed  in 
the  cunning  place,  where  thou  know'st  that  my 
eye  had  opportunity  to  overlook  their  artifices. 
There  is  a  Providence  in  our  least  seeming  calcu 
lations  :  an  imprisonment  of  weary  years  hath  its 
reward  in  this  warning  !" 

Content  appeared  to  acquiesce,  but  the  situation 
of  affairs  prevented  the  discourse  from  becoming 
more  minute. 

As  they  approached  the  dwelling  of  the  Heath- 
cotes,  better  opportunity  of  observing  the  condition 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  337 

of  things,  in  and  around  the  house,  was  of  course 
obtained.  The  position  of  the  building  would  have 
rendered  any  attempt,  on  the  part  of  those  in  it, 
to  gain  the  fort  ere  the  arrival  of  assistance,  des 
perately  hazardous,  since  the  meadows  that  lay 
between  them  were  already  alive  with  the  fero 
cious  warriors  of  the  enemy.  But  it  was  evident 
that  the  Puritan,  whose  infirmities  kept  him  within 
doors,  entertained  no  such  design;  for  it  was  shortly 
apparent  that  those  within  were  closing  and  bar 
ring  the  windows  of  the  habitation,  and  that  other 
provisions  for  defence  were  in  the  course  of  active 
preparation.  The  feelings  of  Content,  who  knew 
that  the  house  contained  only  his  wife  and  father, 
with  one  female  assistant,  were  excited  to  agony, 
as  the  party  he  commanded  drew  near  on  one  side, 
at  a  distance  about  equal  to  that  of  a  band  of  the 
enemy,  who  were  advancing  diagonally  from  the 
woods,  on  the  other.  He  saw  the  efforts  of  those 
so  dear  to  him,  as  they  had  recourse  to  the  means 
of  security  provided  to  repel  the  very  danger  which 
now  threatened ;  and,  to  his  eyes,  it  appeared  that 
the  trembling  hands  of  Ruth  had  lost  their  power, 
when  haste  and  confusion  more  than  once  defeated 
the  object  of  her  exertions. 

"We  must  break  and  charge,  or  the  savage  will 
be  too  speedy !"  he  said,  in  tones  that  grew  thick 
from  breathing  quicker  than  was  wont  for  one  of 
nis  calm  temperament.  "  See!  they  enter  the  orch 
ard  !  in  another  minute,  they  will  be  masters  of 
the  dwelling !" 

But  his  companion  marched  with  a  firmer  step, 
and  looked  with  a  cooler  eye.  There  was,  in  his 
gaze,  the  understanding  of  a  man  practised  in  scenes 
of  sudden  danger,  and  in  his  mien  the  authority  of 
one  accustomed  to  command. 

"  Fear  not,"  he  answered ;  "  the  art  of  old  Mark 
Heathcote  hath  departed  from  him,  or  he  still 


338  THE    WEPT 

knoweth  how  to  make  good  his  citadel  against  a 
first  onset.  If  we  quit  our  order,  the  superiority  of 
concert  will  be  lost,  and  being  few  in  numbers,  de 
feat  will  be  certain ;  but  with  this  front,  and  a  fit 
ting  steadiness,  our  march  may  not  be  repulsed.  To 
thee,  Captain  Content  Heathcote,  it  need  not  be 
told,  that  he  who  now  counsels  hath  seen  the  strife 
of  savages  ere  this  hour." 

"  T  know  it  well — but  dost  not  see  my  Ruth,  la 
boring  at  the  ill-fitted  shutter  of  the  chamber  ?  The 
woman  will  be  slain,  in  her  heedlessness — for,  hark ! 
there  beginneth  the  volley  of  the  enemy !" 

"No,  'tis  he  who  led  my  troop  in  a  far  different 
warfare !"  exclaimed  the  stranger,  whose  form  grew 
more  erect,  and  whose  thoughtful  and  deeply-fur 
rowed  features  assumed  something  like  the  stern 
pleasure  which  kindles  in  the  soldier  as  the  sounds 
of  contention  increase.  "  'Tis  old  Mark  Heathcote, 
true  to  his  breeding  and  his  name !  he  hath  let  off 
the  culverin  upon  the  knaves !  behold,  they  are 
already  disposed  to  abandon  one  who  speaketh  so 
boldly,  and  are  breaking  through  the  fences  to  the 
left,  that  we  may  taste  something  of  their  quality. 
Now,  bold  Englishmen,  strong  of  hand  and  stout  of 
heart,  you  have  training  in  your  duty,  and  you  shall 
not  be  wanting  in  example.  You  have  wives  and 
children  at  hand,  looking  at  your  deeds ;  and  there 
is  one  above,  that  taketh  note  of  the  manner  in 
which  you  serve  in  his  cause.  Here  is  an  opening 
for  your  skill ;  scourge  the  cannibals  with  the  hand 
of  death  !  On,  on  to  the  onset,  and  to  victory !" 


OF   WISH-TON-WISII.  339 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


Hect.  "  Is  this  Achilles  ? 

Ackil.  I  am  Achilles. 

Hect.  Stand  fair,  I  pray  thee/  let  me  look  on  thee. 

TROILUS  AND  CRESSIDA. 


IT  may  now  be  necessary  to  take  a  rapid  glance 
at  the  situation  of  the  whole  combat,  which  had 
begun  to  thicken  in  different  parts  of  the  valley. 
The  party  led  by  Dudley,  and  exhorted  by  Meek, 
had  broken  its  order  on  reaching  the  meadows  be 
hind  the  fort,  and,  seeking  the  covers  of  the  stumps 
and  fences,  it  had  thrown  in  its  fire,  with  good  ef 
fect,  on  the  irregular  band  that  pressed  into  the 
fields.  This  decision  quickly  caused  a  change  in 
the  manner  of  the  advance.  The  Indians  took  to 
covers,  in  their  turn,  and  the  struggle  assumed  that 
desultory  but  dangerous  character,  in  which  the 
steadiness  and  resources  of  the  individual  are  put 
to  the  severest  trial.  Success  appeared  to  vacillate; 
the  white  men  at  one  time  widening  the  distance 
between  them  and  their  friends  in  the  dwelling, 
and,  at  another,  falling  back  as'  if  disposed  to  seek 
the  shelter  of  the  palisadoes.  Although  numbers 
were  greatly  in  favor  of  the  Indians,  weapons  and 
skill  supported  the  cause  of  their  adversaries.  It 
was  the  evident  wish  of  the  former  to  break  in 
upon  the  little  band  that  opposed  their  progress  to 
the  village,  in  and  about  which  they  saw  that  scene 
of  hurried  exertion  which  has  already  been  de 
scribed — a  spectacle  but  little  likely  to  cool  the  fu 
rious  ardor  of  an  Indian  onset.  But  the  wary  man 
ner  in  which  Dudley  conducted  his  battle,  rendered 
this  an  experiment  of  exceeding  hazard. 


340  THE    WEPT 

However  heavy  of  intellect  the  Ensign  might 
appear  on  other  occasions,  the  present  was  one 
every  way  adapted  to  draw  out  his  best  and  most 
manly  qualities.  Of  large  and  powerful  stature,  he 
felt,  in  moments  of  strife,  a  'degree  of  confidence 
in  himself,  that  was  commensurate  with  the  amount 
of  physical  force  he  wielded.  To  this  hardy  assu 
rance  was  to  be  added  no  trifling  portion  of  the  sort 
of  enthusiasm  that  can  be  awakened  in  the  most 
sluggish  bosoms,  and  which,  like  the  anger  of  an 
even-tempered  man,  is  only  the  more  formidable 
from  the  usually  quiet  habits  of  the  individual, 
Nor  was  this  the  first,  by  many,  of  Ensign  Dudley's 
warlike  deeds.  Besides  the  desperate  affair  already 
related  in  these  pages,  he  had  been  engaged  in 
divers  hostile  expeditions  against  the  aborigines, 
and  on  all  occasions  had  he  shown  a  cool  head  and 
a  resolute  mind. 

There  was  pressing  necessity  for  both  these  es 
sential  qualities,  in  the  situation  in  which  the  En 
sign  now  found  himselr.  By  properly  extending  his 
little  force,  and  yet  keeping  it  at  the  same  time 
perfectly  within  supporting  distance,  by  emulating 
the  caution  of  his  foes  in  consulting  the  covers,  and 
by  reserving  a  portion  of  his  fire  throughout  the 
broken  and  yet  well-ordered  line,  the  savages  were 
finally  beaten  back,  from  stump  to  stump,  from 
hillock  to  hillock,  and  fence  to  fence,  until  they  had 
fairly  entered  the  margin  of  the  forest.  Further, 
the  experienced  eye  of  the  borderer  saw  he  could 
not  follow.  Many  of  his  men  were  bleeding,  and 
growing  weaker  as  their  wounds  still  flowed.  The 
protection  of  the  trees  gave  the  enemy  too  great 
an  advantage  for  their  position  to  be  forced,  and 
destruction  would  have  been  the  inevitable  conse 
quence  of  the  close  struggle  which  must  have  fol 
lowed  a  charge.  In  this  stage  of  the  combat,  Dudley 
began  to  cast  anxious  and  inquiring  looks  behind 


or  WISH-TON-WISH.  341 

him.  He  saw  that  support  was  not  to  he  expected, 
and  he  also  saw,  with  regret,  that  many  of  the 
women  ind  children  were  still  busy,  transporting 
necessaries  from  the  village  into  the  fort.  Falling 
back  to  a  better  line  of  covers,  and  to  a  distance 
that  materially  lessened  the  danger  of  the  arrows, 
the  weapons  used  by  quite  two-thirds  of  his  enemies, 
he  awaited,  in  sullen  silence,  the  proper  moment  to 
effect  a  further  retreat. 

It  was  while  the  party  of  Dudley  stood  thus  at 
bay,  that  a  fierce  yell  rung  in  the  arches  of  the 
forest.  It  was  an  exclamation  of  pleasure,  uttered  in 
the  wild  manner  of  those  people ;  as  if  the  tenants 
of  the  woods  were  animated  by  some  sudden  and 
general  impulse  of  joy.  The  crouching  yeomen  re 
garded  each  other  in  uneasiness,  but  seeing  no  sign 
of  wavering  in  the  steady  mien  of  their  leader, 
each  man  kept  close,  awaiting  some  further  exhibi 
tion  of  the  devices  of  their  foes.  Ere  another  minute 
had  passed,  two  warriors  appeared  at  the  margin 
of  the  wood,  where  they  stood  apparently  in  con 
templation  of  the  different  scenes  that  were  acting 
in  various  parts  of  the  valley.  More  than  one  mus 
ket  was  levelled  with  intent  to  injure  them,  but  a 
sign  from  Dudley  prevented  attempts  that  would 
most  probably  have  been  frustrated  by  the  never- 
slumbering  vigilance  of  a  JVorth  American  Indian. 

There  was  however  something  in  the  air  and  port 
of  these  two  individuals,  that  had  its  share  in  pro 
ducing  the  forbearance  of  Dudley.  They  were 
evidently  both  chiefs,  and  of  far  more  than  usual 
estimation.  As  was  common  with  the  military  lead 
ers  of  the  Indians,  they  were  men  also  of  large  and 
commanding  stature.  Viewed  at  the  distance  from 
which  they  were  seen,  one  seemed  a  warrior  who 
had  reached  the  meridian  of  his  days,  while  the 
other  had  the  lighter  step  and  more  flexible  move 
ment  of  a  much  briefer  existence.  Both  were  well 
29  * 


342  THE   WEPT 

armed,  and,  as  was  usual  with  people  of  their  origin 
on  the  war-path,  they  were  clad  only  in  the  cus 
tomary  scanty  covering  of  waist-cloths  and  leggings. 
The  former,  however,  were  of  scarlet,  and  the  lat 
ter  were  rich  in  the  fringes  and  bright  colors  of  In 
dian  ornaments.  The  elder  of  the  two  wore  a  gay 
belt  of  wampum  around  his  head,  in  the  form  of  a 
turban ;  but  the  younger  appeared  with  a  shaven 
crown,  on  which  nothing  but  the  customary  chival 
rous  scalp-lock  was  visible. 

The  consultation,  like  most  of  the  incidents  that 
have  been  just  related,  occupied  but  a  very  few 
minutes.  The  eldest  of  the  chiefs  issued  some  or 
ders.  The  mind  of  Dudley  was  anxiously  endeav 
oring  to  anticipate  their  nature,  when  the  two  dis 
appeared  together.  The  Ensign  would  now  have 
been  left  entirely  to  vague  conjectures,  had  not  the 
rapid  execution  of  the  mandates  that  had  been  is 
sued  to  the  youngest  of  the  Indians,  soon  left  him 
in  no  doubt  of  their  intentions.  Another  loud  and 
general  shout  drew  his  attention  towards  the  right; 
and  when  he  had  endeavored  to  strengthen  his  po 
sition  by  calling  three  or  four  of  the  best  marksmen 
to  that  end  of  his  little  line,  the  youngest  of  the 
chiefs  was  seen  bounding  across  the  meadow,  lead 
ing  a  train  of  whooping  followers  to  the  covers  that 
commanded  its  opposite  extremity.  In  short,  the 
position  of  Dudley  was  completely  turned ;  and  the 
stumps  and  angles  of  the  fences,  which  secreted  his 
men,  were  likely  to  become  of  no  further  use.  The 
emergency  demanded  decision.  Collecting  his  yeo 
men,  ere  the  enemy  had  time  to  profit  by  his  ad 
vantage,  the  Ensign  ordered  a  rapid  retreat  towards 
the  fort.  In  this  movement  he  was  favored  by  the 
formation  of  the  ground,  a  circumstance  that  had 
been  well  considered  on  the  advance ;  and  in  a  very 
few  minutes,  the  party  found  itself  safely  posted 
under  the  protection  of  a  scattering  fire  from  the 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  343 

palisadoes,  which  immediately  checked  the  pursuit 
of  the  whooping  and  exulting  foe.  The  wounded 
men,  after  a  stern  or  rather  sullen  halt,  that  was 
intended  to  exhibit  the  unconquerable  determina 
tion  of  the  whites,  withdrew  into  the  works  for 
succor,  leaving  the  command  of  Dudley  reduced  by 
nearly  one-half  of  its  numbers.  With  this  dimin 
ished  force,  however,  he  promptly  turned  his  atten 
tion  towards  the  assistance  of  those  who  combated 
at  the  opposite  extremity  of  the  village. 

Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  houses  of  a  new  settlement  were  cluster 
ed  near  each  other,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
colonial  establishments.  In  addition  to  the  more 
obvious  and  sufficient  motive,  which  has  given  rise 
to  the  same  inconvenient  and  unpicturesque  man 
ner  of  building,  over  nine-tenths  of  the  continent 
of  Europe,  there  had  been  found  a  religious  induce 
ment  for  the  inconvenient  custom.  One  of  the  en 
actments  of  the  Puritans  said,  that  "  no  man  shall 
set  his  dwelling-house,  above  the  distance  of  half-a- 
mile,  or  a  mile  at  farthest,  from  the  meeting  of  the 
congregation  where  the  church  doth  usually  assem 
ble  for  the  worship  of  God."  "  The  support  of  the 
worship  of  God,  in  church  fellowship,"  was  the  rea 
son  alleged  for  this  arbitrary  provision  of  the  law ; 
but  it  is  quite  probable  that  support  against  danger 
of  a  more  temporal  character  was  another  motive. 
There  were  those  within  the  fort  who  believed  the 
smoking  piles  that  were  to  be  seen,  here  and  there, 
in  the  clearings  on  the  hills,  owed  their  destruction 
to  a  disregard  of  that  protection  which  was  thought 
to  be  yielded  to  those  who  leaned  with  the  greatest 
confidence,  even  in  the  forms  of  earthly  transactions, 
on  the  sustaining  power  of  an  all-seeing  and  all-di 
recting  Providence.  Among  this  number  was  Reu 
ben  Ring,  who  submitted  to  the  loss  of  his  habita 
tion,  as  to  a  merited  punishment  for  the  light-mind- 


344  THE    WEPT 

edness  that  had  tempted  him  to  erect  a  dwelling  at 
the  utmost  limits  of  the  prescribed  distance. 

As  the  party  of  Dudley  retreated,  that  sturdy 
yeoman  stood  at  a  window  of  the  chamber  in  which 
his  prolific  partner  with  her  recent  gift  were  safely 
lodged ,  for  in  that  moment  of  confusion,  the  hus 
band  was  compelled  to  discharge  the  double  duty 
of  sentinel  and  nurse.  He  had  just  fired  his  piece, 
and  he  had  reason  to  think  with  success,  on  the 
enemies  that  pressed  too  closely  on  the  retiring  par 
ty,  and  as  he  reloaded  the  gun,  he  turned  a  melan 
choly  eye  on  the  pile  of  smoking  embers,  that  now 
lay  where  his  humble  but  comfortable  habitation 
had  so  lately  stood. 

"I  fear  me,  Abundance,"  he  said,  shaking  his 
head  with  a  sigh,  "  that  there  was  error  in  the  mea 
surement  between  the  meeting  and  the  clearing. 
Some  misgivings  of  the  lawfulness  of  stretching 
the  chain  across  the  hollows,  came  over  me  at  the 
time ;  but  the  pleasant  knoll,  where  the  dwelling 
stood,  was  so  healthful  and  commodious,  that,  if  it 
were  a  sin,  I  hope  it  is  one  that  is  forgiven !  There 
doth  not  seem  so  much  as  the  meanest  of  its  logs, 
that  is  not  now  melted  into  white  ashes  by  the  fire !" 

"  Raise  me,  husband,"  returned  the  wife,  in  the 
weak  voice  natural  to  her  feeble  situation ;  "  raise 
me  with  thine  arm,  that  I  may  look  upon  the  place 
where  my  babes  first  saw  the  light." 

Her  request  was  granted,  and,  for  a  minute,  the 
woman  gazed  in  mute  grief  at  the  destruction  of 
her  comfortable  home.  Then,  as  a  fresh  yell  from 
the  foe  rose  on  the  air  without,  she  trembled,  and 
turned  with  a  mother's  care  towards  the  unconscious 
beings  that  slumbered  at  her  side. 

"  Thy  brother  hath  been  driven  by  the  heathen 
to  the  foot  of  the  palisadoes,"  observed  the  other, 
after  regarding  his  companion  with  manly  kindnesa 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  345 

for  a  moment,  "  and  he  hath  lessened  his  force  by 
many  that  are  wounded." 

A  short  but  eloquent  pause  succeeded.  The  wo 
man  turned  her  tearful  face  upwards,  and  stretch 
ing  out  a  bloodless  hand,  she  answered — 

"  I  know  what  thou  wouldst  do — it  is  not  meet 
that  Sergeant  Ring  should  be  a  woman-tender,  when 
the  Indian  enemy  is  in  his  neighbor's  fields !  Go  to 
thy  duty,  and  that  which  is  to  be  done,  do  manfully ! 
and  yet  would  I  have  thee  remember  how  many 
there  are  who  lean  upon  thy  life  for  a  father's 
care." 

The  yeoman  first  cast  a  cautious  look  around 
him,  for  this  the  decent  and  stern  usages  of  the  Pu 
ritans  exacted,  and  perceiving  that  the  girl  who  oc 
casionally  entered  to  tend  the  sick  was  not  present, 
he  stooped,  and  impressing  his  lips  on  the  cheek  of 
his  wife,  he  threw  a  yearning  look  at  his  offspring, 
shouldered  his  musket,  and  descended  to  the  court. 

When  Reuben  Ring  joined  the  party  of  Dudley, 
the  latter  had  just  issued  an  order  to  march  to  the 
support  of  those  who  still  stoutly  defended  the 
southern  entrance  of  the  village.  The  labor  of  se 
curing  necessaries  was  not  yet  ended,  and  it  was  on 
every  account  an  object  of  the  last  importance  to 
make  good  the  hamlet  against  the  enemy.  The 
task,  however,  was  not  as  difficult  as  the  force  of 
the  Indians  might,  at  first,  have  given  reason  to  be 
lieve.  The  conflict,  by  this  time,  had  extended  to 
the  party  which  was  headed  by  Content,  and,  in 
consequence,  the  Indians  were  compelled  to  contend 
with  a  divided  force.  The  buildings  themselves, 
with  the  fences  and  out-houses,  were  so  many  breast 
works,  and  it  was  plain  that  the  assailants  acted 
with  a  caution  and  concert,  that  betrayed  the  di 
rection  of  some  mind  more  highly  gifted  than  those 
which  ordinarily  fall  to  the  lot  of  uncivilized  men. 

The  task  of  Dudley  was  not  so  difficult  as  before, 


346  THE    WEPT 

since  the  enemy  ceased  to  press  upon  his  march, 
preferring  to  watch  the  movements  of  those  who 
held  the  fortified  house,  of  whose  numbers  they 
were  ignorant,  and  of  whose  attacks  they  were  evi 
dently  jealous.  As  soon  as  the  reinforcement  reach 
ed  the  Lieutenant  who  defended  the  village,  he 
commanded  the  charge,  and  his  men  advanced  with 
shouts  and  clamor,  some  singing  spiritual  songs, 
others  lifting  up  their  voice  in  prayer,  while  a  few 
availed  themselves  of  the  downright  and  perhaps 
equally  effective  means  of  raising  sounds  as  fear 
ful  as  possible.  The  whole  being  backed  by  spirited 
and  well-directed  discharges  of  musketry,  the  effort 
was  successful.  In  a  few  minutes  the  enemy  fled, 
leaving  that  side  of  the  valley  momentarily  free 
from  danger. 

Pursuit  would  have  been  folly.  After  posting  a 
few  look-outs  in  secret  and  safe  positions  among  the 
houses,  the  whole  party  returned,  with  an  intention 
of  cutting  off  the  enemy  who  still  held  the  mead 
ows  near  the  garrison.  In  this  design,  however, 
their  intentions  were  frustrated.  The  instant  they 
were  pressed,  the  Indians  gave  way,  evidently  for 
the  purpose  of  gaining  the  protection  of  the  woods ; 
and  when  the  whites  returned  to  their  works,  they 
were  followed  in  a  manner  to  show  that  they  could 
make  no  further  movement  without  the  hazard  of 
a  serious  assault.  In  this  condition,  the  men  in  and 
about  the  fort  were  compelled  to  be  inefficient 
spectators  of  the  scene  that  was  taking  place 
around  the  "  Heathcote-house,"  as  the  dwelling  of 
old  Mark  was  commonly  called. 

The  fortified  building  had  been  erected  for  the 
protection  of  the  village  and  its  inhabitants,  an  ob 
ject  that  its  position  rendered  feasible ;  but  it  could 
offer  no  aid  to  those  who  dwelt  without  the  range  of 
musketry.  The  only  piece  of  artillery  belonging  to 
the  settlement,  was  the  culverin  which  had  been  dis- 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  347 

charged  by  the  Puritan,  and  which  served  for  the 
moment  to  check  the  advance  of  his  enemies.  But 
the  exclamations  of  the  stranger,  and  the  appeal 
to  his  men,  with  which  the  last  chapter  closed, 
sufficiently  proclaimed  that  the  attack  was  diverted 
from  the  house,  and  that  work  of  a  bloody  charac 
ter  now  offered  itself  to  those  he  and  his  compan 
ion  led. 

The  ground  around  the  dwelling  of  the  Heath- 
cotes  admitted  of  closer  and  more  deadly  conflict 
than  that  on  which  the  other  portions  of  the  com 
bat  had  occurred.  Time  had  given  size  to  the 
orchards,  and  wealth  had  multiplied  and  rendered 
more  secure  the  inclosures  and  out-buildings.  It 
was  in  one  of  the  former  that  the  hostile  parties 
met,  and  came  to  that  issue  which  the  warlike 
stranger  had  foreseen. 

Content,  like  Dudley,  caused  his  men  to  separate, 
and  they  threw  in  their  fire  with  the  same  guarded 
reservation  that  had  been  practised  by  the  other 
party.  Success  again  attended  the  efforts  of  disci 
pline;  the  whites  gradually  beating  back  their  ene 
mies,  until  there  was  a  probability  of  forcing  them 
entirely  into  the  open  ground  in  their  rear,  a  sue 
cess  that  would  have  been  tantamount  to  a  victory 
But  at  this  flattering  moment,  yells  were  heard  be 
hind  the  leaping  and  whooping  band,  that  was  stil. 
seen  gliding  through  the  openings  of  the  smoke,  re 
sembling  so  many  dark  and  malignant  spectres 
acting  their  evil  rites.  Then,  as  a  chief  with  a  tur- 
baned  head,  terrific  voice,  and  commanding  stature., 
appeared  in  their  front,  the  whole  of  the  wavering 
line  received  an  onward  impulse.  The  yells  re 
doubled;  another  warrior  was  seen  brandishing  a 
tomahawk  on  one  flank,  and  the  whole  of  the  deep 
phalanx  came  rushing  in  upon  the  whites,  threat 
ening  to  sweep  them  away,  as  the  outbreaking 
torrent  carries  desolation  in  its  course. 


348  THE    WEPT 

"Men,  to  your  square!"  shouted  the  stranger, 
disregarding  cover  and  life,  together,  in  such  a 
pressing  emergency;  "to  your  square,  Christians 
and  be  firm  !" 

The  command  was  repeated  by  Content,  and  echoed 
from  mouth  to  mouth.  But  before  those  on  the  flanks 
could  reach  the  centre,  the  shock  had  come.  All 
order  being  lost,  the  combat  was  hand  to  hand, 
one  party  fighting  fiercely  for  victory,  and  the  other 
knowing  that  they  stood  at  the  awful  peril  of  their 
lives.  After  the  first  discharge  of  the  musket  and 
the  twang  of  the  bow,  the  struggle  was  maintained 
with  knife  and  axe ;  the  thrust  of  the  former,  or  the 
descent  of  the  keen  and  glittering  tomahawk,  being 
answered  by  sweeping  and  crushing  blows  of  the 
musket's  but,  or  by  throttling  grasps  of  hands  that 
were  clenched  in  the  death-gripe.  Men  fell  on  each 
other  in  piles,  and  when  the  conqueror  rose  to  shake 
off*  the  bodies  of  those  who  gasped  at  his  feetrhis 
frowning  eye  rested  alike  on  friend  and  enemy.  The 
orchard  rang  with  the  yells  of  the  Indians,  but  the 
Colonists  fought  in  mute  despair.  Sullen  resolution 
only  gave  way  with  life ;  and  it  happened  more  than 
once,  that  fearful  day,  that  the  usual  reeking  token 
of  an  Indian  triumph  was  swung  before  the  stern 
and  still  conscious  eyes  of  the  mangled  victim  from 
whose  head  it  had  been  torn. 

In  this  frightful  scene  of  slaughter  and  ferocity, 
the  principal  personages  of  our  legend  were  not  idle. 
By  a  tacit  but  intelligent  understanding,  the  stranger 
with  Content  and  his  son  placed  themselves  back  to 
back,  and  struggled  manfully  against  their  luckless 
fortune.  The  former  showed  himself  no  soldier  of 
parade ;  for,  knowing  the  uselessness  of  orders  when 
each  one  fought  for  life,  he  dealt  out  powerful  blows 
in  silence.  His  example  was  nobly  emulated  by  Con 
tent  ;  and  young  Mark  moved  limb  and  muscle  with 
the  vigorous  activity  of  his  age.  A  first  onset  of  the 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  349 

enemy  was  repelled,  and  for  a  moment  there  was  a 
faint  prospect  of  escape.  At  the  suggestion  of  thf. 
stranger,  the  three  moved,  in  their  order,  towards 
the  dwelling,  with  the  intention  of  trusting  to  theii 
personal  activity  when  released  from  the  throng. 
But  at  this  luckless  instant,  when  hope  was  begin 
ning  to  assume  the  air  of  probability,  a  chief  came 
stalking  through  the  horrible  melee,  seeking  on  each 
side  some  victim  for  his  uplifted  axe.  A  crowd  of 
the  inferior  herd  pressed  at  his  heels,  and  a  first 
glance  told  the  assailed  that  the  decisive  moment 
had  come. 

At  the  sight  of  so  many  of  their  hated  enemies 
still  living,  and  capable  of  suffering,  a  common  and 
triumphant  shout  burst  from  the  lips  of  the  Indians. 
Their  leader,  like  one  superior  to  the  more  vulgar 
emotions  of  his  followers,  alone  approached  in  silence. 
As  the  band  opened  and  divided  to  encircle  the  vic 
tims,  chance  brought  him,  face  to  face,  with  Mark. 
Like  his  foe,  the  Indian  warrior  was  still  in  the  fresh 
ness  and  vigor  of  young  manhood.  In  stature,  years 
and  agility,  the  antagonists  seemed  equal ;  and,  as 
the  followers  of  the  chief  threw  themselves  on  the 
stranger  and  Content,  like  men  who  knew  their  lead 
er  needed  no  aid,  there  was  every  appearance  of  a 
fierce  and  doubtful  struggle.  But,  while  neither  of 
the  combatants  showed  any  desire  to  avoid  the  con 
test,  neither  was  in  haste  to  give  the  commencing 
blow.  A  painter,  or  rather  sculptor,  would  have 
seized  the  attitudes  of  these  young  combatants  for 
a  rich  exhibition  of  the  power  of  his  art. 

Mark,  like  most  of  his  friends,  had  c«st  aside  all 
superfluous  vestments  ere  he  approached  the  scene 
of  Strife.  The  upper  part  of  his  body  was  naked  to 
the  shirt,  and  even  this  had  been  torn  asunder  by 
the  rude  encounters  through  which  he  had  already 
passed.  The  whole  of  his  full  and  heaving  chest  was 
bare,  exposing  the  white  skin  and  blue  veins  of  one 
30 


350  THE    WEPT 

whose  fathers  had  come  from  towards  the  rising 
sun.  His  swelling  form  rested  on  a  leg  that  seemed 
planted  in  defiance,  while  the  other  was  thrown  in 
front,  like  a  lever,  to  control  the  expected  move 
ments.  His  arms  were  extended  to  the  rear,  the 
hands  grasping  the  barrel  of  a  musket,  which  threat 
ened  death  to  all  who  should  come  within  its  sweep 
The  head,  covered  with  the  short,  curling,  yellow 
hair  of  his  Saxon  lineage,  was  a  little  advanced 
above  the  left  shoulder,  and  seemed  placed  in  a 
manner  to  preserve  the  equipoise  of  the  whole  frame. 
The  brow  was  flushed,  the  lips  compressed  and  reso 
lute,  the  veins  of  the  neck  and  temples  swollen  nearly 
to  bursting,  and  the  eyes  contracted,  but  of  a  gaze 
that  bespoke  equally  the  feelings  of  desperate  de 
termination  and  of  entranced  surprise. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Indian  warrior  was  a  man 
still  more  likely  to  be  remarked.  The  habits  of  his 
people  had  brought  him,  as  usual,  into  the  field,  with 
naked  limbs  and  nearly  uncovered  body.  The  po 
sition  -of  his  frame  was  that  of  one  prepared  to  leap ; 
and  it  would  have  been  a  comparison  tolerated  by 
the  license  of  poetry,  to  have  likened  his  straight 
and  agile  form  to  the  semblance  of  a  crouching 
panther.  The  projecting  leg  sustained  the  body,  bend 
ing  under  its  load  more  with  the  free  play  of  muscle 
and  sinew  than  from  any  weight,  while  the  slightly 
stooping  head  was  a  little  advanced  beyond  the  per 
pendicular.  One  hand  was  clenched  on  the  helve 
of  an  axe,  that  lay  in  a  line  with  the  right  thigh, 
while  the  other  was  placed,  with  a  firm  gripe,  on  the 
buck-horn  handle  of  a  knife,  that  was  still  sheathed 
at  his  girdle.  The  expression  of  the  face  was  earnest, 
severe,  and  perhaps  a  little  fierce,  and  yet  the  whole 
was  tempered  by  the  immovable  and  dignified  calm 
of  a  chief  of  high  qualities.  The  eye,  however,  was 
gazing  and  riveted;  and,  like  that  of  the  youth 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  351 

whose  life  <he  threatened,  it  appeared  singularly 
contracted  with  wonder. 

The  momentary  pause  that  succeeded  the  move 
ment  by  which  the  two  antagonists  threw  them 
selves  into  these  tine  attitudes,  was  full  of  meaning. 
Neither  spoke,  neither  permitted  play  of  muscle, 
neither  even  seemed  to  breathe.  The  delay  was 
not  like  that  of  preparation,  for  each  stood  ready 
for  his  deadly  effort,  nor  would  it  have  been  possible 
to  trace  in  the  compressed  energy  of  the  counte 
nance  of  Mark,  or  in  the  lofty  and  more  practised 
bearing  of  the  front  and  eye  of  the  Indian,  any 
thing  like  wavering  of  purpose.  An  emotion  foreign 
to  the  scene  appeared  to  possess  them  both,  ec.ch 
active  frame  unconsciously  accommodating  itself 
to  the  bloody  business  of  the  hour,  while  the  in 
scrutable  agency  of  the  mind  held  them,  for  a  brief 
interval,  in  check. 

A  yell  of  death  from  the  mouth  of  a  savage  who 
was  beaten  to  the  very  feet  of  his  chief  by  a  blow 
of  the  stranger,  and  an  encouraging  shout  from  the 
lips  of  the  latter,  broke  the  short  trance.  The 
knees  of  the  chief  bent  still  lower,  the  head  of  the 
tomahawk  was  a  little  raised,  the  blade  of  the  knife 
was  seen  glittering  from  its  sheath,  and  the  but 
of  Mark's  musket  had  receded  to  the  utmost  tension 
of  his  sinews,  when  a  shriek  and  a  yell,  different 
from  any  before  heard  that  day,  sounded  near.  At 
the  same  moment,  the  blows  of  both  the  combatants 
were  suspended,  though  by  the  agency  of  very 
different  degrees  of  force.  Mark  felt  the  arms  of 
one  cast  around  his  limbs,  with  a  power  sufficient 
to  embarrass,  though  not  to  subdue  him,  while  the 
well-known  voice  of  Whittal  Ring  sounded  in  his 
ears — 

"  Murder  the  lying  and  hungry  Pale-faces !  They 
leave  us  no  food  but  air — no  drink  but  water !' 


352  THE    WEPT 

On  the  other  hand,  when  the  chief  turned  in 
anger,  to  strike  the  daring  one  who  presumed  to 
arrest  his  arm,  he  saw  at  his  feet  the  kneeling  figure, 
the  uplifted  hands,  and  agonized  features,  of  Martha. 
Averting  the  blow  that  a  follower  already  aimed 
at  the  life  of  the  suppliant,  he  spoke  rapidly  in  his 
own  language,  and  pointed  to  the  struggling  Mark. 
The  nearest  Indians  cast  themselves  on  the  already 
half-captured  youth.  A  whoop  brought  a  hundred 
more  to  the  spot,  and  then  a  calm  as  sudden,  and 
almost  as  fearful,  as  the  previous  tumult,  prevailed 
in  the  orchard.  It  was  succeeded  by  the  long-drawn, 
frightful,  and  yet  meaning  yell  by  which  the 
American  warrior  proclaims  his  victory. 

With  the  end  of  the  tumult  in  the  orchard,  the 
sounds  of  strife  ceased  in  all  the  valley.  Though 
conscious  of  the  success  of  their  enemies,  the  men 
in  the  fort  saw  the  certainty  of  destruction,  not  only 
to  themselves,  but  to  those  feeble  ones  whom  they 
should  be  compelled  to  leave  without  a  sufficient 
defence,  were  they  to  attempt  a  sortie  to  that 
distance  from  their  works.  They  were  therefore 
compelled  to  remain  passive  and  grave  spectators 
of  an  evil  they  had  not  the  means  to  avert. 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  353 


CHAPTER  XXIY. 


"Were  such  things  here,  as  we  do  speak  about? 
Or  have  we  eaten  of  the  insane  root 
That  takes  the  reason  prisoner?" 

MACBETH. 


AN  hour  later  presented  a  different  scene.  Bands 
of  the  enemy,  that  in  civilized  warfare  would  be 
called  parties  of  observation,  lingered  in  the  skirts 
of  the  forest  nearest  to  the  village;  and  the  settlers 
still  stood  to  their  arms,  posted  among  the  buildings, 
or  maintaining  their  array  at  the  foot  of  the  pali- 
sadoes.  Though  the  toil  of  securing  the  valuables 
continued,  it  was  evident  that,  as  the  first  terrors 
of  alarm  had  disappeared,  the  owners  of  the  hamlet 
began  to  regain  some  assurance  in  their  ability  to 
make  it  good  against  their  enemies.  Even  the 
women  were  now  seen  moving  through  its  grassy 
street  with  greater  seeming  confidence,  and  there 
was  a  regularity  in  the  air  of  the  armed  men,  which 
denoted  a  determination  that  was  calculated  to 
impose  on  their  wild  and  undisciplined  assailants. 

But  the  dwelling,  the  out-buildings,  and  all  the 
implements  of  domestic  comfort,  which  had  so  lately 
contributed  to  the  ease  of  the  Heathcotes,  were 
completely  in  the  possession  of  the  Indians.  The 
open  shutters  and  doors,  the  scattered  and  half-de 
stroyed  furniture,  the  air  of  devastation  and  waste, 
and  the  general  abandonment  of  all  interest  in  the 
protection  of  the  property,  proclaimed  the  licen 
tious  disorder  of  a  successful  assault.  Still  the  work 
of  destruction  and  plunder  did  not  go  on.  Although 
here  and  there  might  be  seen  some  warrior,  deco 
rated,  according  to  the  humors  of  his  savage  taste, 
30* 


354  THE    WEPT 

with  the  personal  effects  of  the  former  inmates  of 
the  building,  every  hand  had  been  checked,  and 
the  furious  tempers  of  the  conquerors  had  been 
quieted,  seemingly  by  the  agency  of  some  unseen 
and  extraordinary  authority.  The  men,  who  so 
lately  had  been  moved  by  the  fiercest  passions  of 
our  nature,  were  suddenly  restrained  if  not  ap 
peased  ;  and,  instead  of  that  exulting  indulgence  of 
vengeance  which  commonly  accompanies  an  Indian 
triumph,  the  warriors  stalked  about  the  buildings 
and  through  the  adjacent  grounds,  in  a  silence  which, 
though  gloomy  and  sullen,  was  marked  by  their 
characteristic  submission  to  events. 

The  principal  leaders  of  the  inroad,  and  all  the 
surviving  sufferers  by  the  defeat,  were  assembled 
in  the  piazza  of  the  dwelling.  Ruth,  pale,  sorrow 
ing,  and  mourning  for  others  rather  than  for  her 
self,  stood  a  little  apart,  attended  by  Martha  and 
the  young  assistant,  whose  luckless  fortune  it  was  to 
be  found  at  her  post,  on  this  eventful  day.  Content, 
the  stranger,  and  Mark,  were  near,  subdued  and 
bound,  the  sole  survivors  of  all  that  band  they  had 
so  recently  led  into  the  conflict.  The  gray  hairs 
and  bodily  infirmities  of  the  Puritan  spared  him  the 
same  degradation.  The  only  other  being  present, 
of  European  origin,  was  Whittal  Ring.  The  inno 
cent  stalked  slowly  among  the  prisoners,  sometimes 
permitting  ancient  recollections  and  sympathies  to 
come  over  his  dull  intellect,  but  oftener  taunting 
the  unfortunate  with  the  injustice  of  their  race, 
and  with  the  wrongs  of  his  adopted  people. 

The  chiefs  of  the  successful  party  stood  in  the 
centre,  apparently  engaged  in  some  grave  delibe 
ration.  As  they  were  few  in  number,  it  was  evident 
that  the  council  only  included  men  of  the  highest 
importance.  Chiefs  of  inferior  rank,  but  of  great 
names  in  the  limited  renown  of  those  simple  tribes, 
conversed  in  knots  among  the  trees,  or  paced  the 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  355 

court  at  a  respectful  distance  from  the  consultation 
of  their  superiors. 

The  least  practised  eye  could  not  mistake  the 
person  of  him  on  whom  the  greatest  weight  of  au 
thority  had  fallen.  The  turbaned  warrior,  already 
introduced  in  these  pages,  occupied  the  centre  of 
the  group,  in  the  calm  and  dignified  attitude  of  an 
Indian  who  hearkens  to  or  who  utters  advice.  His 
musket  was  borne  by  one  who  stood  in  waiting, 
while  the  knife  and  axe  were  returned  to  his  girdle. 
He  had  thrown  a  light  blanket,  or  it  might  be  better 
termed  a  robe  of  scarlet  cloth,  over  his  left  shoul 
der,  whence  it  gracefully  fell  in  folds,  leaving  the 
whole  of  the  right  arm  free,  and  most  of  his  ample 
chest  exposed  to  view.  From  beneath  this  mantle, 
blood  fell  slowly  in  drops,  dying  the  floor  on  which 
he  stood.  The  countenance  of  this  warrior  was 
grave,  though  there  was  a  quickness  in  the  move 
ments  of  an  ever-restless  eye,  that  denoted  great 
mental  activity,  no  less  than  the  disquiet  of  suspi 
cion.  One  skilled  in  physiognomy  might  too  have 
thought,  that  a  shade  of  suppressed  discontent  was 
struggling  with  the  self-command  of  habits  that 
had  become  part  of  the  nature  of  the  individual. 

The  two  companions  nearest  this  chief  were,  like 
himself,  men  past  the  middle  age,  and  of  mien  and 
expression  that  were  similar,  though  less  strikingly 
marked  ;  neither  showing  those  signs  of  displeasure, 
which  occasionally  shot  from  organs  that,  in  spite 
of  a  mind  so  trained  and  so  despotic,  could  not 
always  restrain  their  glittering  brightness.  One 
was  speaking,  and  by  his  glance,  it  was  evident 
that  the  subject  of  his  discourse  was  the  fourth  and 
last  of  their  number,  who  had  placed  himself  in  a 
position  that  prevented  his  being  an  auditor  of  what 
was  said. 

In  the  person  of  the  latter  chief,  the  reader  will 
recognise  the  youth  who  had  confronted  Mark,  and 


356  THE   WEPT 

whose  rapid  movement  on  the  flank  of  Dudley  had 
first  driven  the  Colonists  from  the  meadows.  The 
eloquent  expression  of  limb,  the  tension  of  sinews, 
and  the  compression  of  muscles,  as  last  exhibited, 
were  now  gone.  They  had  given  place  to  the 
peculiar  repose  that  distinguishes  the  Indian  war 
rior  in  his  moments  of  inaction,  quite  as  much  as  it 
marks  the  manner  of  one  schooled  in  the  forms  of 
more  polished  life.  With  one  hand  he  leaned  lightly 
on  a  musket,  while  from  the  wrist  of  the  other, 
which  hung  loose  at  his  side,  depended,  by  a  thong 
of  deer's  sinew,  a  tomahawk  from  which  fell  drops 
of  human  blood.  His  person  bore  no  other  cover 
ing  than  that  in  which  he  had  fought,  and,  unlike 
his  more  aged  companion  in  authority,  his  body  had 
escaped  without  a  wound. 

In  form  and  in  features,  this  young  warrior  might 
be  deemed  a  model  of  the  excellence  of  Indian 
manhood.  The  limbs  were  full,  round,  faultlessly 
straight,  and  distinguished  by  an  appearance  of  ex 
treme  activity,  without  being  equally  remarkable 
for  muscle.  In  the  latter  particular,  in  the  upright 
attitude,  and  in  the  distant  and  noble  gaze  which  so 
often  elevated  his  front,  there  was  a  close  affinity  to 
the  statue  of  the  Pythian  Apollo ;  while  in  the  full, 
though  slightly  effeminate  chest,  there  was  an  equal 
resemblance  to  that  look  of  animal  indulgence,  which 
is  to  be  traced  in  the  severe  representations  of  Bac 
chus.  This  resemblance  however  to  a  Deity  that  is 
little  apt,  to  awaken  lofty  sentiments  in  the  specta 
tor,  was  not  displeasing,  since  it  in  some  measure 
relieved  the  sternness  of  an  eye  that  penetrated 
like  the  glance  of  the  eagle,  and  that  might  other 
wise  have  left  an  impression  of  too  little  sympathy 
with  the  familiar  weaknesses  of  humanity.  Still 
the  young  chief  was  less  to  be  remarked  by  this 
peculiar  fullness  of  chest,  the  fruit  of  intervals  of 
inaction,  constant  indulgence  of  the  first  wants  of 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  357 

nature,  and  a  total  exemption  from  toil,  than  most 
of  those,  who  either  counselled  in  secret  near,  or 
paced  the  grounds  about  the  building.  In  him,  it 
was  rather  a  point  to  be  admired,  than  a  blemish ; 
for  it  seemed  to  say,  that  notwithstanding  the  evi 
dences  of  austerity  which  custom,  and  perhaps  char 
acter,  as  well  as  rank,  had  gathered  in  his  air,  there 
was  a  heart  beneath  that  might  be  touched  by  the 
charities  of  humanity.  On  the  present  occasion,  the 
glances  of  his  roving  eye,  though  searching  and  full 
of  meaning,  were  evidently  weakened  by  an  ex 
pression  that  betrayed  a  strange  and  unwonted  con 
fusion  of  mind. 

The  conference  of  the  three  was  ended,  and  the 
warrior  with  a  turbaned  head  advanced  towards  his 
captives,  with  the  step  of  a  man  whose  mind  had 
come  to  a  decision.  As  the  dreaded  chief  drew  near, 
Whittal  retired,  stealing  to  the  side  of  the  younger 
warrior,  in  a  manner  that  denoted  greater  familiarity, 
and  perhaps  greater  confidence.  A  sudden  thought 
lighted  the  countenance  of  the  latter.  He  led  the 
innocent  to  the  extremity  of  the  piazza,  spoke  low 
and  earnestly,  pointing  to  the  forest,  and  when  he 
saw  that  his  messenger  was  already  crossing  the 
fields,  at  the  top  of  his  speed,  he  moved,  with  calm 
dignity,  into  the  centre  of  the  group,  taking  his  sta 
tion  so  near  his  friend,  that  the  folds  of  the  scarlet 
blanket  brushed  his  elbow.  Until  this  movement, 
the  silence  was  not  broken.  When  the  great  chief 
felt  the  passage  of  the  other,  he  glanced  a  look  of 
hesitation  at  his  friends,  but  resuming  his  former  air 
of  composure,  he  spoke : 

"  Man  of  many  winters,"  he  commenced,  in  an 
English  that  was  quite  intelligible,  while  it  betray 
ed  a  difficulty  of  speech  we  shall  not  attempt  imi 
tating,  "  why  hath  the  Great  Spirit  made  thy  race 
like  hungry  wolves? — why  hath  a  Pale-face  the 
stomach  of  a  buzzard,  the  throat  of  a  hound,  and  the 


358  THE    WEPT 

heart  of  a  deer?  Thou  hast  seen  many  meltings  of 
the  snow :  thou  rememberest  the  young  tree  a  sap 
ling.  Tell  me  ;  why  is  the  mind  of  a  Yengeese  so 
big,  that  it  must  hold  all  that  lies  between  the  rising 
and  the  setting  sun  ?  Speak,  for  we  would  know 
the  reason,  why  arms  so  long  are  found  on  so  little 
bodies  ?" 

The  events  of  that  day  had  been  of  a  nature  to 
awaken  all  the  latent  energies  of  the  Puritan.  He 
had  lifted  up  his  spirit,  with  the  morning,  in  the  cus 
tomary  warmth  with  which  he  ever  hailed  the  Sab 
bath;  the  excitement  of  the  assault  had  found  him 
sustained  above  most  earthly  calamities,  and  while 
it  quickened  feelings  that  can  never  become  extinct 
in  one  who  has  been  familiar  with  martial  usages, 
it  left  him,  stern  in  his  manhood,  and  exalted  in  his 
sentiments  of  submission  and  endurance.  Under 
such  influences,  he  answered  with  an  austerity  that 
equalled  the  gravity  of  the  Indian. 

"  The  Lord  hath  delivered  us  into  the  bonds  of 
the  heathen,"  he  said,  "  and  yet  his  name  shall  be 
blessed  beneath  my  roof!  Out  of  evil  shall  come 
good ;  and  from  this  triumph  of  the  ignorant  shall 
proceed  an  everlasting  victory  !" 

The  chief  gazed  intently  at  the  speaker,  whose 
attenuated  frame,  venerable  face,  and  long  locks, 
aided  by  the  hectic  of  enthusiasm  that  played  be 
neath  a  glazed  and  deep-set  eye,  imparted  a  char 
acter  that  seemed  to  rise  superior  to  human  weak 
ness.     Bending  his  head  in  superstitious  reverence, 
he  turned  gravely  to  those  who,  appearing  to  pos 
sess  more  of  the  world  in  their  natures,  were  more 
fitting  subjects  for  the  designs  he  meditated. 

"  The  mind  of  my  father  is  strong,  but  his  body 
is  like  a  branch  of  the  scorched  hemlock !"  was  the 
pithy  declaration  with  which  he  prefaced  his  next 
remark.  "  Why  is  this  ?"  he  continued,  looking  se 
verely  at  the  three  who  had  so  lately  been  opposed 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  359 

to  him  in  deadly  contest.  "Here  are  men  with 
skins  like  the  blossom  of  the  dog-wood,  and  yet 
their  hands  are  so  dark  that  I  cannot  see  them !" 

"  They  have  been  blackened  by  toil,  beneath  a 
burning  sun,"  returned  Content,  who  knew  how  to 
discourse  in  the  figurative  language  of  the  people  in 
whose  power  he  found  himself.  "  We  have  labored, 
that  our  women  and  children  might  eat." 

"  No — the  blood  of  red  men  hath  changed  their 
color." 

"  We  have  taken  up  the  hatchet,  that  the  land 
which  the  Great  Spirit  hath  given  might  still  be 
ours,  and  that  our  scalps  might  not  be  blown  about 
in  the  smoke  of  a  wigwam.  Would  a  Narragansett 
hide  his  arms,  and  tie  up  his  hands,  with  the  war- 
whoop  ringing  in  his  ears  ?" 

When  allusion  was  made  to  the  ownership  of  the 
valley,  the  blood  rushed  into  the  cheek  of  the  war 
rior  in  such  a  flood,  that  it  deepened  even  the  natu 
ral  swarthy  hue ;  but,  clenching  the  handle  of  his 
axe  convulsively,  he  continued  to  listen,  like  one 
accustomed  to  entire  self-command. 

"  What  a  red  man  does  may  be  seen,"  he  answer 
ed,  pointing  with  a  grim  smile  towards  the  orchard ; 
exposing,  by  the  movement  of  the  blanket,  as  he 
raised  his  arm,  two  of  the  reeking  trophies  of  vic 
tory  attached  to  his  belt.  "  Our  ears  are  open  very 
wide.  We  listen,  to  hear  in  what  manner  the  hunt 
ing-grounds  of  the  Indian  have  become  the  plowed 
fields  of  the  Yengeese.  Now  let  my  wise  men  heark 
en,  that  they  may  grow  more  cunning,  as  the  snows 
settle  on  their  heads.  The  pale-men  have  a  secret 
to  make  the  black  seem  white !" 

'  Narragansett " 

"  Wampanoag !"  interrupted  the  chief,  with  the 
lofty  air  with  which  an  Indian  identifies  himself 
with  the  glory  of  his  people — then  glancing  a  milder 
look  at  the  young  warrior  at  his  elbow,  he  added, 


360  THE   WEPT 

hastily,  and  in  the  tone  of  a  courtier ;  'tis  very 
good — Narragansett,  or  Wampanoag — Wampanoag 
or  Narragansett.  The  red  men  are  brothers  and 
friends.  They  have  broken  down  the  fences  be 
tween  their  hunting-grounds,  and  they  have  cleared 
the  paths,  between  their  villages,  of  briars.  What 
have  you  to  say  to  the  Narragansett  ? — he  has  not 
yet  shut  his  ear." 

"  Wampanoag,  if  such  be  thy  tribe,"  resumed 
Content,  "  thou  shalt  hear  that  which  my  conscience 
teacheth  is  language  to  be  uttered.  The  God  of  an 
Englishman  is  the  God  of  men  of  all  ranks,  and 
of  all  time."  His  listeners  shook  their  heads  doubt- 
ingly,  with  the  exception  of  the  youngest  chief, 
whose  eye  never  varied  its  direction  while  the 
other  spoke,  each  word  appearing  to  enter  deep 
within  the  recesses  of  his  mind.  "  In  defiance  of 
these  signs  of  blasphemy,  do  I  still  proclaim  the 
power  of  him  I  worship  !"  Content  continued ;  "  My 
God  is  thy  God ;  and  he  now  looketh  equally  on  the 
deeds,  and  searcheth,  with  inscrutable  knowledge, 
into  the  hearts  of  both.  This  earth  is  his  footstool ; 
yonder  heaven  his  throne !  I  pretend  not  to  enter 
into  his  sacred  mysteries,  or  to  proclaim  the  reason 
why  one-half  of  his  fair  work  hath  been  so  long 
left  in  that  slough  of  ignorance  and  heathenish 
abomination  in  which  my  fathers  found  it ;  why 
these  hills  never  before  echoed  the  songs  of  praise 
or  why  the  valleys  have  been  so  long  mute.  These 
are  truths  hid  in  the  secret  designs  of  his  sacred 
purpose,  and  they  may  not  be  known,  until  the  last 
fulfilment.  But  a  great  and  righteous  spirit  hath 
led  hither  men,  filled  with  the  love  of  truth  and 
pregnant  with  the  designs  of  a  heavily-burthened 
faith,  inasmuch  as  their  longings  are  for  things  pure, 
while  the  consciousness  of  their  transgressions  bends 
them  in  deep  humility  to  the  dust.  Thou  bringest 
against  us  the  charge  of  coveting  thy  lands,  and 


OF   WISH-TON-WIS1I.  361 

of  bearing  minds  filled  with  the  corruption  of  riches, 
This  cometh  of  ignorance  of  that  which  hath  heen 
abandoned,  in  order  that  the  spirit  of  the  godly 
might  hold  fast  to  the  truth.  When  the  Yengeese 
came  into  this  wilderness,  he  left  behind  him  all 
that  can  delight  the  eye*  please  the  senses,  and  feed 
the  longing  of  the  human  heart,  in  the  country  of 
his  fathers :  for  fair  as  is  the  work  of  the  Lord  in 
other  lands,  there  is  none  that  is  so  excellent  as 
that  from  which  these  pilgrims  in  the  wilderness 
have  departed.  In  that  favored  isle,  the  earth  groan- 
eth  with  the  abundance  of  its  products ;  the  odors 
of  its  sweet  savors  salute  the  nostrils,  and  the  eye 
is  never  wearied  in  gazing  at  its  loveliness. — No : 
the  men  of  the  Pale-faces  have  deserted  home,  and 
all  that  sweeteneth  life,  that  they  might  serve  God; 
and  not  at  the  instigations  of  craving  minds,  or  of 
evil  vanities !" 

Content  paused,  for  as  he  grew  warm  with  the 
spirit  by  which  he  was  animated,  he  had  insensibly 
strayed  from  the  closer  points  of  his  subject.  His 
conquerors  maintained  the  decorous  gravity  with 
which  an  Indian  always  listens  to  the  speech  of 
another,  until  he  had  ended ;  and  then  the  Great 
Chief,  or  Wampanoag,  as  he  had  proclaimed  him 
self  to  be,  laid  a  finger  lightly  on  the  shoulder  of 
his  prisoner,  as  he  demanded — 

"  Why  have  the  people  of  the  Yengeese  lost 
themselves  on  a  blind  path  ?  If  the  country  they 
have  left  is  pleasant,  cannot  their  God  hear  them 
from  the  wigwams  of  their  fathers'?  See — if  our 
trees  are  but  bushes,  leave  them  to  the  red  man ; 
he  will  find  room  beneath  their  branches  to  lie  in 
the  shade.  If  our  rivers  are  small,  it  is  because  the 
Indians  are  little.  If  the  hills  are  low  and  the 
valleys  narrow,  the  legs  of  my  people  are  weary 
with  much  hunting,  and  they  will  journey  among 
them  the  easier.  Now  what  the  Great  Spirit  hath 
31 


362  THE    WEPT 

made  for  a  red  man,  a  red  man  should  keep.  They 
whose  skins  are  like  the  light  of  the  morning  should 
go  back  towards  the  rising  sun,  out  of  which  they 
have  come  to  do  us  wrong." 

The  chief  spoke  calmly,  but  it  was  like  a  man 
much  accustomed  to  deal  in  the  subtleties  of  con 
troversy,  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  people  to 
whom  he  belonged. 

"  God  hath  otherwise  decreed,"  said  Content. 
"  He  hath  led  his  servants  hither,  that  the  incense 
of  praise  may  arise  from  the  wilderness." 

"  Your  Spirit  is  a  wicked  Spirit.  Your  ears  have 
been  cheated.  The  counsel  that  told  your  young 
men  to  come  so  far,  was  not  spoken  in  the  voice  of 
the  Manitou.  It  came  from  the  tongue  of  one  that 
loves  to  see  game  scarce,  and  the  squaws  hungry. 
Go — you  follow  the  mocker,  or  your  hands  would 
not  be  so  dark." 

"  I  know  not  what  injury  may  have  been  done 
the  Wampanoags,  by  men  of  wicked  minds,  for 
some  such  there  are,  even  in  the  dwellings  of  the 
well-disposed ;  but  wrong  to  any  hath  never  come 
from  those  that  dwell  within  my  doors.  For  these 
lands,  a  price  hath  been  paid ;  and  what  is  now  seen 
of  abundance  in  the  valley,  hath  been  wrought  by 
much  labor.  Thou  art  a  Wampanoag,  and  dost 
know  that  the  hunting-grounds  of  thy  tribe  have 
been  held  sacred  by  my  people.  Are  not  the  fences 
standing,  which  their  hands  placed,  that  not  even 
the  hoof  of  colt  should  trample  the  corn  ?  and  when 
was  it  known  that  the  Indian  came  for  justice 
against  the  trespassing  ox,  and  did  not  find  it  ?" 

"  The  moose  doth  not  taste  the  grass  at  the  root; 
he  liveth  on  the  tree !  He  doth  not  stoop  to  feed  on 
that  which  he  treadeth  under  foot !  Does  the  hawk 
look  for  the  musketoe  ?  His  eye  is  too  big.  He  can 
see  a  bird.  Go — when  the  deer  have  been  killed, 
the  Wampanoags  will  break  down  the  fence  with 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  363 

their  own  hands.  The  arm  of  a  hungry  man  is 
strong.  A  cunning  Pale-face  hath  made  that  fence; 
it  shutteth  out  the  colt,  and  it  shutteth  in  the  Indian. 
But  the  mind  of  a  warrior  is  too  big ;  it  will  not  be 
kept  at  grass  with  the  ox." 

A  low  but  expressive  murmur  of  satisfaction  from 
the  mouths  of  his  grim  companions,  succeeded  this 
reply  of  the  chief. 

"  The  country  of  thy  tribe  is  far  distant,"  return 
ed  Content,  "  and  I  will  not  lay  untruth  to  my  soul, 
by  presuming  to  say  whether  justice  or  injustice 
hath  been  done  them  in  the  partition  of  the  lands. 
But  in  this  valley  hath  wrong  never  been  done  to 
the  red  man.  What  Indian  hath  asked  for  food, 
and  not  got  it  ?  If  he  hath  been  a-thirst,  the  cider 
came  at  his  wish ;  if  he  hath  been  a-cold,  there  was 
a  seat  by  the  hearth ;  and  yet  hath  there  been  rea 
son  why  the  hatchet  should  be  in  my  hand,  and  why 
my  foot  should  be  on  the  war-path !  For  many  sea 
sons  we  lived  on  lands,  which  were  bought  of  both 
red  and  white  man,  in  peace.  But  though  the  sun 
shone  clear  so  long,  the  clouds  came  at  last.  There 
was  a  dark  night  fell  upon  this  valley,  Wampanoag, 
and  death  and  the  brand  entered  my  dwelling,  to 
gether.  Our  young  men  were  killed,  and our 

spirits  were  sorely  tried." 

Content  paused,  for  his  voice  became  thick,  and 
his  eye  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  pale  and  droop 
ing  countenance  of  her  who  leaned  on  the  arm  of 
the  still  excited  and  frowning  Mark  for  support. 
The  young  chief  listened  with  a  charmed  ear.  As 
Content  had  proceeded,  his  body  was  inclined  a  lit 
tle  forward,  and  his  whole  attitude  was  that  which 
men  unconsciously  assume  when  intensely  occupied 
in  listening  to  sounds  of  the  deepest  interest. 

"  But  the  sun  rose  again !"  said  the  great  chief 
pointing  at  the  evidences  of  prosperity  which  were 
everywhere  apparent  in  the  settlement,  casting  at 


364  THE    WEPT 

the  same  time  an  uneasy  and  suspicious  glance  at 
his  youngest  companion.  "  The  morning  was  clear, 
tuough  the  night  was  so  dark.  The  cunning  of  a 
Pale-face  knows  how  to  make  corn  grow  on  a  rock. 
The  foolish  Indian  eats  roots,  when  crops  fail  and 
game  is  scarce." 

1  God  ceased  to  be  angry;"  returned  Content 
meekly,  folding  his  arms  in  a  manner  to  show  he 
wished  to  speak  no  more. 

The  great  chief  was  about  to  continue,  when  his 
younger  associate  laid  a  finger  on  his  naked  shoul 
der,  and,  by  a  sign,  indicated  that  he  wished  to  hold 
communication  with  him  apart.  The  former  met 
the  request  with  respect,  though  it  might  be  discov 
ered  that  he  little  liked  the  expression  of  his  com 
panion's  features,  and  that  he  yielded  with  reluc 
tance,  if  not  with  disgust.  But  the  countenance  of 
the  youth  was  firm,  and  it  would  have  needed  more 
than  usual  hardihood  to  refuse  a  request  seconded 
by  so  steady  and  so  meaning  an  eye.  The  elder 
spoke  to  the  warrior  nearest  his  elbow,  addressing 
him  by  the  name  of  Annawon,  and  then,  by  a  ges 
ture  so  natural  and  so  dignified  that  it  might  have 
graced  the  air  of  a  courtier,  he  announced  his  rea 
diness  to  proceed.  Notwithstanding  the  habitua 
reverence  of  the  aborigines  for  age,  the  others  gave 
way  for  the  passage  of  the  young  man,  in  a  manner 
to  proclaim  that  merit  or  birth,  or  both,  had  united 
to  purchase  for  him  a  personal  distinction,  which 
far  exceeded  that  shown,  in  common,  to  men  of  his 
years.  The  two  chiefs  left  the  piazza  in  the  noise 
less  manner  of  the  moccasoned  foot. 

The  passage  of  these  dignified  warriors  towards 
the  grounds  in  the  rear  of  the  dwelling,  as  it  was 
characteristic  of  their  habits,  is  worthy  of  being 
mentioned.  Neither  spoke,  neither  manifested  any 
womanish  impatience  to  pry  into  the  musings  of  the 
other's  mind,  and  neither  failed  in  those  slight  but 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  365 

still  sensible  courtesies  by  which  the  path  was  ren 
dered  commodious  and  the  footing  sure.  They  had 
reached  the  summit  of  the  elevation  so  often  named, 
ere  they  believed  themselves  sufficiently  retired  to 
indulge  in  a  discourse  which  might  otherwise  have 
enlightened  profane  ears.  When  beneath  the  shade 
of  the  fragrant  orchard  which  grew  on  the  hill,  the 
senior  of  the  two  stopped,  and  throwing  about  him 
one  of  those  quick,  nearly  imperceptible,  and  yet 
wary  glances,  by  which  an  Indian  understands  his 
precise  position,  as  it  were  by  instinct,  he  commenced 
the  dialogue.  The  discourse  was  in  the  dialect  of 
their  race,  but  as  it  is  not  probable  that  many  who 
read  these  pages  would  be  much  enlightened  were 
we  to  record  it  in  the  precise  words  in  which  it  has 
been  transmitted  to  us,  a  translation  into  English, 
as  freely  as  the  subject  requires,  and  the  geniuses 
of  the  two  languages  will  admit,  shall  be  attempted. 

"What  would  my  brother  have?"  commenced  he 
with  the  turban  ed  head,  uttering  the  guttural  sounds 
in  the  low,  soothing  tones  of  friendship,  and  even  of 
affection.  "  What  troubles  the  Great  Sachem  of 
the  Narragansetts?  His  thoughts  seem  uneasy.  I 
think  there  is  more  before  his  eye,  than  one  whose 
sight  is  getting  dim  can  see.  Doth  he  behold  the 
spirit  of  the  brave  Miantonimoh,  who  died,  like  a 
dog,  beneath  the  blows  of  cowardly  Pequots  and 
false-tongued  Yengeese  ?  Or  does  his  heart  swell, 
with  longing,  to  see  the  scalps  of  treacherous  Pale, 
faces  hanging  at  his  belt?  Speak,  my  son;  the 
hatchet  hath  long  been  buried  in  the  path  between 
our  villages,  and  thy  words  will  enter  the  ears  of  a 
friend." 

"  I  do  not  see  the  spirit  of  my  father,"  returned 
the  young  Sachem;  "he  is  afar  off,  in  the  hunting- 
grounds  of  just  warriors.  My  eyes  are  too  weak  to 
look  over  so  many  mountains,  and  across  so  many 
rivers.  He  is  chasing  the  moose  in  grounds  where 
31  * 


363  THE    WEPT 

there  are  no  briars ;  he  needeth  not  the  sight  of  a 
voung  man  to  tell  him  which  way  the  trail  leadeth, 
Why  should  I  look  at  the  place  where  the  Pequot 
and  the  Pale-face  took  his  life?  The  fire  which 
scorched  this  hill  hath  blackened  the  spot,  and  I  can 
no  longer  find  the  marks  of  blood." 

"  My  son  is  very  wise — cunning  beyond  his  win 
ters  !  That  which  hath  been  once  revenged,  is  for 
gotten.  He  looks  no  further  than  six  moons.  He 
sees  the  warriors  of  the  Yengeese  coming  into  his 
village,  murdering  his  old  women,  and  slaying  the 
Narragansett  girls ;  killing  his  warriors  from  behind, 
and  lighting  their  fires  with  the  bones  of  red  men. 
I  will  now  stop  my  ears,  for  the  groans  of  the  slaugh 
tered  make  my  soul  feel  weak." 

"  Wampanoag,"  answered  the  other,  with  a  fierce 
flashing  of  his  eagle  eye,  and  laying  his  hand  firmly 
on  his  breast,  "  the  night  the  snows  were  red  with 
the  blood  of  my  people,  is  here !  my  mind  is  dark : 
none  of  my  race  have  since  looked  upon  the  place 
where  the  lodges  of  the  Narragansetts  stood,  and 
yet  it  hath  never  been  hid  from  our  sight.  Since 
that  time  have  we  travelled  in  the  woods,  bearing 
on  our  backs  all  that  is  left  but  our  sorrow ;  that 
we  carry  in  our  hearts." 

"  Why  is  my  brother  troubled  ?  There  are  many 
scalps  among  his  people,  and  see,  his  own  tomahawk 
is  very  red !  Let  him  quiet  his  anger  till  the  night 
cometh,  and  there  will  be  a  deeper  stain  on  the  axe. 
I  know  he  is  in  a  hurry,  but  our  councils  say  it  is 
better  to  wait  for  darkness,  since  the  cunning  of  the 
Pale-faces  is  too  strong  for  the  hands  of  our  young 
men." 

"When  was  a  Narragansett  slow  to  leap,  after 
the  whoop  was  given ;  or  unwilling  to  stay,  when 
men  of  gray  heads  say  'tis  better?  I  like  your  coun 
sel;  it  is  full  of  wisdom.  Yet  an  Indian  is  but  a 
man!  Can  he  fight  with  the  God  of  the  Yengeese? 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  367 

He  is  too  weak.  An  Indian  is  but  a  man,  though  his 
skin  be  red!'* 

"  I  look  into  the  clouds,  at  the  trees,  among  the 
lodges,"  said  the  other,  affecting  to  gaze  curiously 
at  the  different  objects  he  named,  "  but  I  cannot 
see  the  white  Manitou.  The  pale-men  were  talking 
to  him  when  we  raised  the  whoop  in  their  fields, 
and  yet  he  has  not  heard  them.  Go — my  son  has 
struck  their  warriors  with  a  strong  hand ;  has  he 
forgotten  to  count  how  many  dead  lie  among  the 
trees  with  the  sweet-smelling  blossoms  ?" 

"  Metacom,"  returned  he  who  has  been  called 
the  Sachem  of  the  Narragansetts,  stepping  cau 
tiously  nearer  to  his  friend,  and  speaking  lower,  as 
if  he  feared  an  invisible  auditor;  "  thou  hast  put 
hate  into  the  bosoms  of  the  red  men,  but  canst  thou 
make  them  more  cunning  than  the  Spirits?  Hate 
is  very  strong,  but  cunning  hath  a  longer  arm. 
See,"  he  added,  raising  the  fingers  of  his  two 
hands  before  the  eyes  of  his  attentive  companion, 
"  ten  snows  have  come  and  melted,  since  there  stood 
a  lodge  of  the  Pale-faces  on  this  hill.  Conanchet 
was  then  a  boy.  His  hand  had  struck  nothing  but 
deer.  His  heart  was  full  of  wishes.  By  day  he 
thought  of  Pequot  scalps,  at  night  he  heard  the 
dying  words  of  Miantonimoh.  Though  slain  by 
cowardly  Pequots  and  lying  Yengeese,  his  father 
came  with  the  night  into  his  wigwam,  to  talk  to  his 
son.  *  Does  the  child  of  so  many  great  Sachems 

frow  big  T  would  he  say ;  '  is  his  arm  getting  strong, 
is  foot  light,  his  eye  quick,  his  heart  valiant?  Will 
Conanchet  be  like  his  fathers  ? — when  will  the  young 
Sachem  of  the  Narragansetts  become  a  man?'  Why 
should  I  tell  my  brother  of  these  visits  ?  Metacom 
hath  often  seen  the  long  line  of  Wampanoag  Chiefs, 
in  his  sleep  ?  The  brave  -Sachems  sometimes  enter 
into  the  heart  of  their  son !" 

The  lofty-minded,  though  wily  Philip  struck  his 


368  THE    WEPT 

hand  heavily  upon  his  naked  breast,  as  he  answer 
ed — 

"  They  are  always  here.  Metacom  has  no  soul 
but  the  spirit  of  his  fathers !" 

"When  he  was  tired  of  silence,  the  murdered 
Miantonimoh  spoke  aloud,"  continued  Conanchet, 
after  permitting  the  customary  courteous  pause  to 
succeed  the  emphatic  words  of  his  companion.  "He 
bade  his  son  arise,  and  go  among  the  Yengeese, 
that  he  might  return  with  scalps  to  hang  in  his 
wigwam ;  for  the  eyes  of  the  dead  chief  liked  not 
to  see  the  place  so  empty.  The  voice  of  Conanchet 
was  then  too  feeble  for  the  council-fire ;  he  said 
nothing — he  went  alone.  An  evil  spirit  gave  him 
into  the  hands  of  the  Pale-faces.  He  was  a  captive 
many  moons.  They  shut  him  in  a  cage,  like  a  tamed 
panther!  It  was  here.  The  news  of  his  ill-luck 
passed  from  the  mouths  of  the  young  men  of  the 
Yengeese,  to  the  hunters ;  and  from  the  hunters  it 
came  to  the  ears  of  the  Narragansetts.  My  people 
had  lost  their  Sachem,  and  they  came  to  seek  him. 
Metacom,  the  boy  had  felt  the  power  of  the  God  of 
the  Yengeese !  His  mind  began  to  grow  weak ;  he 
thought  less  of  revenge;  the  spirit  of  his  father 
came  no  more  at  night.  There  was  much  talking 
with  the  unknown  God,  and  the  words  of  his  enemies 
were  kind.  He  hunted  with  them.  When  he  met 
the  trail  of  his  warriors  in  the  woods,  his  mind  was 
troubled,  for  he  knew  their  errand.  Still  he  saw 
his  father's  spirit,  and  waited.  The  whoop  was 
heard  that  night ;  many  died,  and  the  Narragansetts 
took  scalps.  Thou  seest  this  lodge  of  stone,  over 
which  fire  has  passed.  There  was  then  a  cunning 
place  above,  and  in  it  the  pale-men  went  to  fight 
for  their  lives.  But  the  fire  kindled,  and  then 
there  was  no  hope.  The  soul  of  Conanchet  was 
moved  at  that  sight,  for  there  was  much  honesty  in 
them  within.  Though  their  skins  were  so  white, 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  369 

they  had  not  slain  his  father.  But  the  flames  would 
not  be  spoken  to,  and  the  place  became  like  the 
coals  of  a  deserted  council-fire.  All  within  were 
turned  to  ashes.  If  the  spirit  of  Miantonimoh  re 
joiced,  it  was  well ;  but  the  soul  of  his  son  was  very 
heavy.  The  weakness  was  on  him,  and  he  no  longer 
thought  of  boasting  of  his  deeds  at  the  war-post." 

"  That  fire  scorched  the  stain  of  blood  from  the 
Sachem's  plain  ?" 

"  It  did.  Since  that  time  I  have  not  seen  the 
marks  of  my  father's  blood.  Gray  heads  and  boys 
were  in  that  fire,  and  when  the  timbers  fell,  nothing 
was  left  but  coals.  Yet  do  they,  who  were  in  the 
blazing  lodge,  stand  there  !" 

The  attentive  Metacom  started,  and  glanced  a 
hasty  look  at  the  ruin. 

"  Does  my  son  see  spirits  in  the  air  ?"  he  asked 
hastily. 

"  No,  they  live ;  they  are  bound  for  the  torments. 
In  the  white  head,  is  he  who  talked  much  with  his 
God.  The  elder  chief,  who  struck  our  young  men 
so  hard,  was  then  also  a  captive  in  this  lodge.  He 
who  spoke,  and  she,  who  seems  even  paler  than 
her  race,  died  that  night ;  and  yet  are  they  now 
here !  Even  the  brave  youth,  that  was  so  hard  to 
conquer,  looks  like  a  boy  that  was  in  the  fire !  The 
Yengeese  deal  with  unknown  Gods;  they  are  too 
cunning  for  an  Indian  !" 

Philip  heard  this  strange  tale,  as  a  being  educated 
in  superstitious  legends  would  be  apt  to  listen ;  and 
yet  it  was  with  a  leaning  to  incredulity,  that  was 
generated  by  his  fierce  and  indomitable  desire  for 
the  destruction  of  the  hated  race.  He  had  prevailed, 
in  the  councils  of  his  nation,  over  many  similar  signs 
of  the  supernatural  agency  that  was  exercised  in 
favor  of  his  enemies,  but  never  before  had  facts  so 
imposing  come  so  directly  and  from  so  high  a  source 
before  his  mind.  Even  the  proud  resolution  and  far- 


370  THE    WEPT 

sighted  wisdom  of  this  sagacious  chief  were  shaken 
by  such  testimony,  and  there  was  a  single  moment 
when  the  idea  of  abandoning  a  league  that  seemed 
desperate  took  possession  of  his  brain.  But  true  to 
himself  and  his  cause,  second  thoughts  and  a  firmer 
purpose  restored  his  resolution,  though  they  could 
not  remove  the  perplexity  of  his  doubts. 

"What  does  Conanchet  wish?"  he  said.  "Twice 
have  his  warriors  broke  into  this  valley,  and  twice 
have  the  tomahawks  of  his  young  men  been  redder 
than  the  head  of  the  woodpecker.  The  fire  was 
not  good  fire ;  the  tomahawk  will  kill  surer.  Had 
not  the  voice  of  my  brother  said  to  his  young  men, 
*  let  the  scalps  of  the  prisoners  alone/  he  could  not 
now  say  '  yet  do  they  now  stand  here  !'  " 

"  My  mind  is  troubled,  friend  of  my  father.  Let 
them  be  questioned,  artfully,  that  the  truth  be 
known." 

Metacom  mused  an  instant;  then  smiling,  in  a 
friendly  manner,  on  his  young  and  much  moved 
companion,  he  made  a  sign  to  a  youth  who  was 
straying  about  the  fields,  to  approach.  This  young 
warrior  was  made  the  bearer  of  an  order  to  lead 
the  captives  to  the  hill,  after  which  the  two  chiefs 
stalked  to  and  fro  in  silence,  each  brooding  over 
what  had  passed,  in  a  humor  that  was  suited  to  his 
particular  character  and  more  familiar  feelings. 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  371 


CHAPTER  XXY. 


No  witherM  witch  shall  here  be  seen, 
No  goblins  lead  the?r  nightly  crew ; 
The  female  fays  shall  haunt  the  green, 
And  dress  thy  grave  with  pearly  dew. 

COLLINS. 


IT  is  rare  indeed  that  the  philosophy  of  a  digni 
fied  Indian  is  so  far  disturbed,  as  to  destroy  the  ap 
pearance  of  equanimity.  When  Content  and  the 
family  of  the  Heathcotes  appeared  on  the  hill,  they 
found  the  chiefs  still  pacing  the  orchard,  with  the 
outward  composure  of  men  unmoved,  and  with  the 
gravity  that  was  suited  to  their  rank.  Annawon, 
who  had  acted  as  their  conductor,  caused  the  cap 
tives  to  be  placed  in  a  row,  choosing  the  foot  of  the 
ruin  for  their  position,  and  then  he  patiently  await 
ed  the  moment  when  his  superiors  might  be  pleased 
to  renew  the  examination.  In  this  habitual  silence, 
there  was  nothing  of  the  abject  air  of  Asiatic  def 
erence.  It  proceeded  from  the  habit  of  self-com 
mand,  which  taught  the  Indian  to  repress  all  natu 
ral  emotions.  A  very  similar  effect  was  produced 
by  the  religious  abasement  of  those  whom  fortune 
had  now  thrown  into  their  power.  It  would  have 
been  a  curious  study,  for  one  interested  in  the  man 
ners  of  the  human  species,  to  note  the  difference 
between  the  calm,  physical,  and  perfect  self-posses 
sion  of  the  wild  tenants  of  the  forest,  and  the  as 
cetic,  spiritually  sustained,  and  yet  meek  submission 
to  Providence,  that  was  exhibited  by  most  of  the 
prisoners.  We  say  of  most,  for  there  was  an  excep 
tion.  The  brow  of  young  Mark  still  retained  its 
frown,  and  the  angry  character  of  his  eye  was  only 


372  THE    WEPT 

tost,  when  by  chance  it  lighted  on  the  drooping  form 
and  pallid  features  of  his  mother.  There  was  am 
ple  time  for  these  several  and  peculiar  qualities  to 
be  thus  silently  exhibited,  many  minutes  passing 
before  either  of  the  Sachems  seemed  inclined  to  re 
commence  the  conference.  At  length  Philip,  or 
Metacom,  as  we  shall  indifferently  call  him,  drew 
near  and  spoke. 

"  This  earth  is  a  good  earth,"  he  said ;  "  it  is  of 
many  colors,  to  please  the  eyes  of  him  who  made 
it.  In  one  part  it  is  dark,  and  as  the  worm  taketh 
the  color  of  the  leaf  on  which  he  crawls,  there  the 
hunters  are  black ;  in  another  part  it  is  white,  and 
that  is  the  part  where  pale-men  were  born,  and 
where  they  should  die;  or  they  may  miss  the  road 
which  leads  to  their  happy  hunting-grounds.  Many 
just  warriors,  who  have  been  killed  on  distant  war 
paths,  still  wander  in  the  woods,  because  the  trail 
is  hid,  and  their  sight  dim.  It  is  not  good  to  trust 
so  much  to  the  cunning  of " 

"  Wretched  and  blind  worshipper  of  Apollyon !" 
interrupted  the  Puritan,  "  we  are  not  of  the  idola 
trous  and  foolish-minded  !  It  hath  been  accorded  to 
us  to  know  the  Lord ;  to  his  chosen  worshippers,  all 
regions  are  alike.  The  spirit  can  mount,  equally, 
through  snows  and  whirlwinds;  the  tempest  and 
the  calm ;  from  the  lands  of  the  sun,  and  the  lands 
of  frosts ;  from  the  depths  of  the  ocean,  from  fire, 
from  the  forest " 

He  was  interrupted,  in  his  turn.  At  the  word  fire, 
the  finger  of  Metacom  fell  meaningly  on  his  shoul 
der  ;  and  when  he  had  ceased,  for  until  then  no  In 
dian  would  have  spoken,  the  other  gravely  asked — 

"  And  when  a  man  of  a  pale  skin  hath  gone  up 
in  the  fire,  can  he  again  walk  upon  earth  ?  Is  the 
river  between  this  clearing  and  the  pleasant  fields 
of  a  Yengeese  so  narrow,  that  the  just  men  can  step 
across  it  when  they  please  ?" 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  373 

"  This  is  the  conceit  of  one  wallowing  in  the 
slough  of  heathenish  abominations !  Child  of  igno 
rance!  know  that  the  barriers  which  separate  heaven 
from  earth  are  impassable;  for  what  puriiied  being 
could  endure  the  wickedness  of  the  flesh  ?" 

"  This  is  a  lie  of  the  false  Pale-faces/'  said  the 
wily  Philip ;  "  it  is  told  that  the  Indian  might  not 
learn  their  cunning,  and  become  stronger  than  a 
Yengeese.  My  father,  and  those  with  him,  were 
once  burnt  in  this  lodge,  and  now  he  standeth  here, 
ready  to  take  the  tomahawk !" 

"  To  be  angered  at  this  blasphemy,  would  ill  de 
note  the  pity  that  I  feel/'  said  Mark,  more  excited 
at  the  charge  of  necromancy,  than  he  was  willing 
to  own ;  "  and  yet  to  suffer  so  fatal  an  error  to 
spread  among  these  deluded  victims  of  Satan,  would 
be  neglect  of  duty.  Thou  hast  heard  some  legend 
of  thy  wild  people,  man  of  the  Wampanoags,  which 
may  heap  double  perdition  on  thy  soul,  lest  thou 
shouldst  happily  be  rescued  from  the  fangs  of  the 
deceiver.  It  is  true,  that  I  and  mine  were  in  ex 
ceeding  jeopardy  in  this  tower,  and  that  to  the  eyes 
of  men  without  we  seemed  melted  with  the  heat 
of  the  flames ;  but  the  Lord  put  it  into  our  spirits  to 
seek  refuge  whither  fire  could  not  come.  The  well 
was  made  the  instrument  of  our  safety,  for  the  ful 
filment  of  his  own  inscrutable  designs." 

Notwithstanding  the  long  practised  and  exceed 
ing  subtlety  of  the  listeners,  they  heard  this  simple 
explanation  of  that  which  they  had  deemed  a  mira 
cle,  with  a  wonder  that  could  not  readily  be  con 
cealed.  Delight  at  the  excellence  of  the  artifice 
was  evidently  the  first  and  common  emotion  of  them 
both ;  nor  would  they  yield  implicit  faith,  until  as 
sured,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  what  they  heard  was 
true.  The  little  iron  door,  which  had  permitted 
access  to  the  well,  for  the  ordinary  domestic  pur 
poses  of  the  family,  was  still  there ;  and  it  was  only 
32 


374  THE    WEPT 

after  each  had  cast  a  look  down  the  deep  shaft,  that 
he  appeared  satisfied  of  the  practicability  of  the 
deed.  Then  a  look  of  triumph  gleamed  in  the 
swarthy  visage  of  Philip,  while  the  features  of  his 
associate  expressed  equally  his  satisfaction  and  his 
regret.  They  walked  apart,  musing  on  what  they 
had  just  seen  and  heard ;  and  when  they  spoke,  it 
was  again  in  the  language  of  their  people. 

"My  son  hath  a  tongue  that  cannot  lie,"  observed 
Metacom,  in  a  soothing,  flattering  accent.  "What 
he  hath  seen,  he  tells ;  and  what  he  tells,  is  true. 
Conanchet  is  not  a  boy,  but  a  chief  whose  wisdom 
is  gray,  while  his  limbs  are  young.  Now,  why  shall 
not  his  people  take  the  scalps  of  these  Yengeese,  that 
they  may  never  go  any  more  into  holes  in  the  earth, 
like  cunning  foxes?" 

"  The  Sachem  hath  a  very  bloody  mind,"  return 
ed  the  young  chief,  quicker  than  was  common  for 
men  of  his  station.  "  Let  the  arms  of  the  warriors 
rest,  till  they  meet  the  armed  hands  of  the  Yen- 
geese,  or  they  will  be  too  tired  to  strike  heavily. 
My  young  men  have  taken  scalps,  since  the  sun 
came  over  the  trees,  and  they  are  satisfied — Why 
does  Metacom  look  so  hard  ?  What  does  my  father 
see?" 

"A  dark  spot  in  the  middle  of  a  white  plain.  The 
grass  is  not  green  ;  it  is  red  as  blood.  It  is  too  dark 
for  the  blood  of  a  Pale-face.  It  is  the  rich  blood  of 
a  great  warrior.  The  rains  cannot  wash  it  out ;  it 
grows  darker  every  sun.  The  snows  do  not  whiten 
it ;  it  hath  been  there  many  winters.  The  birds 
scream  as  they  fly  over  it ;  the  wolf  howls ;  the 
lizards  creep  another  way." 

"  Thine  eyes  are  getting  old ;  fire  hath  blackened 
the  place,  and  what  thou  seest  is  coal." 

"  The  fire  was  kindled  in  a  well ;  it  did  not  burn 
bright.  What  I  see,  is  blood." 

"  Wampanoag,"  rejoined  Conanchet,  fiercely,  "  I 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  875 

have  scorched  the  spot  with  the  lodges  of  the  Fen- 
geese.  The  grave  of  my  father  is  covered  with 
scalps  taken  by  the  hand  of  his  son — Why  does 
Metacom  look  again  1  What  does  the  chief  see  ?" 

"An  Indian  town  burning  in  the  midst  of  the 
snow ;  the  young  men  struck  from  behind ;  the  girls 
screaming;  the  children  broiling  on  coals,  and  the 
old  men  dying  like  dogs !  It  is  the  village  of  the 
cowardly  Pequots — No,  I  see  better ;  the  Yengeese 
are  in  the  country  of  the  Great  Narragansett,  and 
the  brave  Sachem  is  there,  fighting!  I  shut  my  eyes, 
for  smoke  blinds  them  !" 

Conanchet  heard  this  allusion  to  the  recent  and 
deplorable  fate  of  the  principal  establishment  of  his 
tribe,  in  sullen  silence;  for  the  desire  of  revenge, 
which  had  been  so  fearfully  awakened,  seemed 
now  to  be  slumbering,  if  it  were  not  entirely  quelled 
by  the  agency  of  some  mysterious  and  potent  feel 
ing.  He  rolled  his  eyes  gloomily,  from  the  appa 
rently  abstracted  countenance  of  his  artful  com 
panion,  to  those  of  the  captives,  whose  fate  only 
awaited  his  judgment,  since  the  band  which  had 
that  morning  broken  in  upon  the  Wish-Ton-Wish 
was,  with  but  few  exceptions,  composed  of  the  sur 
viving  warriors  of  his  own  powerful  nation.  But, 
while  his  look  was  displeased,  faculties  that  were 
schooled  so  highly,  could  not  easily  be  mistaken,  in 
what  passed,  even  in  the  most  cursory  manner,  be 
fore  his  sight. 

"  What  sees  my  father,  next  ?"  he  asked,  with 
an  interest  he  could  not  control,  detecting  another 
change  in  the  features  of  Metacom. 

"  One  who  is  neither  white  nor  red.  A  young 
woman,  that  boundeth  like  a  skipping  fawn ;  who 
hath  lived  in  a  wigwam,  doing  nothing ;  who  speaks 
with  two  tongues ;  who  holds  her  hands  before  the 
eyes  of  a  great  warrior,  till  he  is  blind  as  the  owl 
in  the  sun — I  see  her " 


376  THE    WEPT 

Metacom  paused,  for  at  that  moment  a  being  that 
singularly  resembled  this  description  appeared  be 
fore  him,  offering  the  reality  of  the  imaginary  pic 
ture  he  was  drawing  with  so  much  irony  and  art. 

The  movement  of  the  timid  hare  is  scarce  more 
hurried,  or  more  undecided,  than  that  of  the  crea 
ture  who  now  suddenly  presented  herself  to  the 
warriors.  It  was  apparent,  by  the  hesitating  and 
half-retreating  step  that  succeeded  the  light  bound 
with  which  she  came  in  view,  that  she  dreaded  to 
advance,  while  she  knew  not  how  far  it  might  be 
proper  to  retire.  For  the  first  moment,  she  stood  in 
a  suspended  and  doubting  posture,  such  as  one  might 
suppose  a  creature  of  mist  would  assume  ere  it  van 
ished,  and  then  meeting  the  eye  of  Conanchet,  the 
uplifted  foot  retouched  the  earth,  and  her  whole 
form  sunk  into  the  modest  and  shrinking  attitude  of 
an  Indian  girl,  who  stood  in  the  presence  of  a  Sachem 
of  her  tribe.  As  this  female  is  to  enact  no  mean 
part  in  that  which  follows,  the  reader  may  be  thank 
ful  for  a  more  minute  description  of  her  person. 

The  age  of  the  stranger  was  under  twenty.  In 
form  she  rose  above  the  usual  stature  of  an  Indian 
maid,  though  the  proportions  of  her  person  were  as 
light  and  buoyant  as  at  all  comported  with  the  full 
ness  that  properly  belonged  to  her  years.  The  limbs, 
seen  below  the  folds  of  a  short  kirtle  of  bright  scar 
let  cloth,  were  just  and  tapering,  even  to  the  nicest 
proportions  of  classic  beauty ;  and  never  did  foot  of 
higher  instep,  and  softer  roundness,  grace  a  feather 
ed  moccason.  Though  the  person,  from  the  neck  to 
the  knees,  was  hid  by  a  tightly-fitting  vest  of  calico 
and  the  short  kirtle  named,  enough  of  the  shape 
was  visible  to  betray  outlines  that  had  never  been 
injured,  either  by  the  mistaken  devices  of  art  or  by 
the  baneful  effects  of  toil.  The  skin  was  only  visi 
ble  at  the  hands,  face,  and  neck.  Its  lustre  having 
been  a  little  dimmed  by  exposure,  a  rich,  rosy  tint 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  377 

had  usurped  the  natural  brightness  of  a  complexion 
that  had  once  been  fair  even  to  brilliancy.  The  eye 
was  full,  sweet,  and  of  a  blue  that  emulated  the  sky 
of  evening ;  the  brows,  soft  and  arched ;  the  nose, 
straight,  delicate,  and  slightly  Grecian;  the  fore 
head,  fuller  than  that  which  properly  belonged  to  a 
girl  of  the  Narragansetts,  but  regular,  delicate,  and 
polished ;  and  the  hair,  instead  of  dropping  in  long 
straight  tresses  of  jet  black,  broke  out  of  the  re 
straints  of  a  band  of  beaded  wampum,  in  ringlets 
of  golden  yellow. 

The  peculiarities  that  distinguished  this  female 
from  the  others  of  her  tribe,  were  not  confined  alone 
to  the  indelible  marks  of  nature.  Her  step  was  more 
elastic ;  her  gait  more  erect  and  graceful ;  her  foot 
less  inwardly  inclined,  and  her  whole  movements 
freer  and  more  decided  than  those  of  a  race  doomed 
from  infancy  to  subjection  and  labor.  Though  or 
namented  by  some  of  the  prized  inventions  of  the 
hated  race  to  which  she  evidently  owed  her  birth, 
she  had  the  wild  and  timid  look  of  those  with  whom 
she  had  grown  into  womanhood.  Her  beauty  would 
have  been  remarkable  in  any  region  of  the  earth, 
while  the  play  of  muscle,  the  ingenuous  beaming  of 
the  eye,  and  the  freedom  of  limb  and  action,  were 
such  as  seldom  pass  beyond  the  years  of  childhood, 
among  people  who,  in  attempting  to  improve,  so 
often  mar  the  works  of  nature. 

Although  the  color  of  the  eye  was  so  very  differ 
ent  from  that  which  generally  belongs  to  one  of  In 
dian  origin,  the  manner  of  its  quick  and  searching 
glance,  and  of  the  half-alarmed  and  yet  understand 
ing  look  with  which  this  extraordinary  creature 
made  herself  mistress  of  the  more  general  charac 
ter  of  the  assemblage  before  which  she  had  been 
summoned,  was  like  the  half-instinctive  knowledge 
of  one  accustomed  to  the  constant  and  keenest  ex 
ercise  of  her  faculties.  Pointing  with  a  finger  to- 
32* 


S78  THE    WEPT 

wards  Whittal  Ring,  who  stood  a  little  in  the  back 
ground,  a  low,  sweet  voice  was  heard  asking,  in  the 
language  of  the  Indians — 

"  Why  has  Conanchet  sent  for  his  woman  from 
the  woods?" 

The  young  Sachem  made  no  reply ;  an  ordinary 
spectator  could  not  have  detected  about  him  even  a 
consciousness  of  the  speaker's  presence.  On  the  con 
trary,  he  maintained  the  lofty  reserve  of  a  chief 
engaged  in  affairs  of  moment.  However  deeply  his 
thoughts  might  have  been  troubled,  it  was  not  easy 
to  tract,  any  evidence  of  the  state  of  his  mind  in 
the  calmness  of  features  that  appeared  habitually 
immovable.  For  a  single  treacherous  instant,  only, 
was  a  glance  of  kindness  shot  towards  the  timid  and 
attentive  girl,  and  then  throwing  the  still  bloody 
tomahawk  into  the  hollow  of  one  arm,  while  the 
hand  of  the  other  firmly  grasped  its  handle,  he  re 
mained  unchanged  in  feature,  as  he  was  rigid  in 
lirnb.  Not  so,  with  Philip.  When  the  intruder  first 
appeared,  a  dark  and  lowering  gleam  of  discontent 
gathered  at  his  brow.  It  quickly  changed  to  a  look 
of  sarcastic  and  biting  scorn. 

"  Does  my  brother  again  wish  to  know  what  I 
see  V  he  demanded,  when  sufficient  time  had  pass 
ed,  after  the  unanswered  question  of  the  female,  to 
show  that  his  companion  was  not  disposed  to  answer. 

"  What  does  the  Sachem  of  the  Wampanoaga 
now  behold?"  returned  Conanchet,  proudly;  un 
willing  to  show  that  any  circumstance  had  occur 
red  to  interrupt  the  subject  of  their  conference. 

"  A  sight  that  his  eyes  will  not  believe.  He  sees 
a  great  tribe  on  the  war-path.  There  are  many 
braves,  and  a  chief  whose  fathers  came  from  the 
clouds.  Their  hands  are  in  the  air ;  they  strike  heavy 
blows ;  the  arrow  is  swift,  and  the  bullet  is  not  seen 
to  enter,  but  it  kills.  Blood  runs  from  the  wounds 
that  is  of  the  color  of  water.  Now  he  does  not  see; 


OF   WISH-TON-WIBH.  379 

but  he  hears !  'Tis  the  scalp-whoop,  and  the  war 
riors  are  very  glad.  The  chiefs  in  the  happy  hunt 
ing-grounds  are  coming,  with  joy,  to  meet  Indians 
that  are  killed ;  for  they  know  the  scalp- whoop  of 
their  children." 

The  expressive  countenance  of  the  young  Sachem 
involuntarily  responded  to  this  description  of  the 
scene  through  which  he  had  just  passed;  and  it  was 
impossible  for  one  so  tutored,  to  prevent  the  blood 
from  rushing  faster  to  a  heart  that  ever  beat  strong 
ly  with  the  wishes  of  a  warrior. 

"What  sees  my  father,  next?"  he  asked,  triumph 
insensibly  stealing  into  the  tones  of  his  voice. 

"  A  Messenger — and  then  he  hears — the  mocca- 
sons  of  squaws !" 

"Enough; — Metacom,  the  women  of  the  Narra- 
gansetts  have  no  lodges.  Their  villages  are  in  coals, 
and  they  follow  the  young  men  for  food." 

"  I  see  no  deer.  The  hunter  will  not  find  venison 
in  a  clearing  of  the  Pale-faces.  But  the  corn  is  full 
of  milk;  Conanchet  is  very  hungry;  he  hath  sent 
for  his  woman,  that  he  may  eat !" 

The  fingers  of  that  hand,  which  grasped  the 
handle  of  the  tomahawk,  appeared  to  bury  them 
selves  in  the  wood;  the  glittering  axe  itself  was 
slightly  raised ;  but  the  fierce  gleaming  of  resent 
ment  subsided,  as  the  anger  of  the  young  Sachem 
vanished,  and  a  dignified  calm  again  settled  on  his 
countenance. 

"  Go,  Wampanoag,"  he  said,  waving  a  hand 
proudly,  as  if  determined  to  be  no  longer  harassed 
by  the  language  of  his  wily  associate.  "My  young 
men  will  raise  the  whoop,  when  they  hear  my 
voice;  and  they  will  kill  deer  for  their  women. 
Sachem,  my  mind  is  my  own." 

Philip  answered  to  the  look  which  accompanied 
these  words,  with  one  that  threatened  vengeance  ; 
but  smothering  his  anger,  with  his  accustomed  wis- 


380  THE    WEPT 

dom,  he  left  the  hill,  assuming  an  air  that  affected 
more  of  commiseration  than  of  resentment. 

"Why  has  Conanchet  sent  for  a  woman  from  the 
woods  'I"  repeated  the  same  soft  voice,  nearer  to 
the  elbow  of  the  young  Sachem,  and  which  spoke 
with  less  of  the  timidity  of  the  sex,  now  that  the 
troubled  spirit  of  the  Indians  of  those  regions  had 
disappeared. 

"JVarra-mattah,  come  near;"  returned  the  young 
chief,  changing  the  deep  and  proud  tones  in  which 
he  had  addressed  his  restless  and  bold  companion 
in  arms,  to  those  which  better  suited  the  gentle 
ear  for  which  his  words  were  intended.  "  Fear  not, 
daughter  of  the  morning,  for  those  around  us  are 
of  a  race  used  to  see  women  at  the  council-fires. 
JNow  look,  with  an  open  eye — is  there  anything 
among  these  trees  that  seemeth  like  an  ancient 
tradition  ?  Hast  ever  beheld  such  a  valley,  in  thy 
dreams  ?  Have  yonder  Pale-faces,  whom  the  toma 
hawks  of  my  young  men  spared,  been  led  before 
thee  by  the  Great  Spirit,  in  the  dark  night  ?" 

The  female  listened,  in  deep  attention.  Her  gaze 
was  wild  and  uncertain,  and  yet  it  was  not  abso 
lutely  without  gleamings  of  a  half-reviving  intelli 
gence.  Until  that  moment,  she  had  been  too  much 
occupied  in  conjecturing  the  subject  of  her  visit,  to 
regard  the  natural  objects  by  which  she  was  sur 
rounded  :  but  with  her  attention  thus  directly  turn 
ed  upon  them,  her  organs  of  sight  embraced  each 
and  all,  with  the  discrimination  that  is  so  remark 
able  in  those  whose  faculties  are  quickened  by  dan 
ger  and  necessity.  Passing  from  side  to  side,  her 
swift  glances  ran  over  the  distant  hamlet,  with  its 
little  fort ;  the  buildings  in  the  near  grounds ;  the 
soft  and  verdant  fields ;  the  fragrant  orchard,  be 
neath  whose  leafy  shades  she  stood,  and  the  black 
ened  tower,  that  rose  in  its  centre,  like  some  gloomy 
memorial,  placed  there  to  remind  the  spectator  not 


OF    \VIS11-TON-WISH.  381 

to  trust  too  fondly  to  the  signs  of  peace  and  loveli 
ness  that  reigned  around.  Shaking  back  the  ringlets 
that  had  blown  about  her  temples,  the  wondering 
female  returned  thoughtfully  and  in  silence  to  her 
place. 

"  'Tis  a  village  of  the  Yengeese !"  she  said,  after 
a  long  and  expressive  pause.  "A  Narragansett 
woman  does  not  love  to  look  at  the  lodges  of  the 
haled  race." 

"  Listen. — Lies  have  never  entered  the  ears  of 
Narra-mattah.  My  tongue  hath  spoken  like  the 
tongue  of  a  chief.  Thou  didst  not  come  of  the  su 
mach,  but  of  the  snow.  This  hand  of  thine  is  not 
like  the  hands  of  the  women  of  my  tribe ;  it  is  lit 
tle,  for  the  Great  Spirit  did  not  make  it  for  work ; 
it  is  of  the  color  of  the  sky  in  the  morning,  for  thy 
fathers  were  born  near  the  place  where  the  sun 
rises.  Thy  blood  is  like  spring-water.  All  this 
thou  knowest,  for  none  have  spoken  false  in  thy  ear. 
Speak — dost  thou  never  see  the  wigwam  of  thy 
father  ?  Does  not  his  voice  whisper  to  thee,  in  the 
language  of  his  people?" 

The  female  stood  in  the  attitude  which  a  sibyl 
might  be  supposed  to  assume,  while  listening  to  the 
occult  mandates  of  the  myterious  oracle,  every 
faculty  entranced  and  attentive. 

"  Why  does  Conanchet  ask  these  questions  of  his 
wife  1  He  knows  what  she  knows ;  he  sees  what  she 
sees;  his  mind  is  her  mind.  If  the  Great  Spirit 
made  her  skin  of  a  different  color,  he  made  her 
heart  the  same.  Narra-mattah  will  not  listen  to 
the  lying  language ;  she  shuts  her  ears,  for  there  is 
deceit  in  its  sounds.  She  tries  to  forget  it.  One 
tongue  can  say  all  she  wishes  to  speak  to  Conanchet; 
why  should  she  look  back  in  dreams,  when  a  great 
chief  is  her  husband  1" 

The  eye  of  the  warrior,  as  he  looked  upon  the 
ingenuous  and  confiding  face  of  the  speaker,  was 


382  THE    WEPT 

kind  to  fondness.  The  firmness  had  passed  away 
and  in  its  place  was  left  the  winning  softness  of  af 
fection,  which,  as  it  belongs  to  nature,  is  seen,  at 
times,  in  the  expression  of  an  Indian's  eye,  as  strongly 
as  it  is  ever  known  to  sweeten  the  intercourse  of  a 
more  polished  condition  of  life. 

"  Girl,"  he  said  with  emphasis,  after  a  moment 
of  thought,  as  if  he  would  recall  her  and  himself  to 
more  important  duties,  "  this  is  a  war-path  ;  all  on 
it  are  men.  Thou  wast  like  the  pigeon  before  its 
wing  opens,  when  I  brought  thee  from  the  nest ;  still 
the  winds  of  many  winters  had  blown  upon  thee. 
Dost  never  think  of  the  warmth  and  of  the  food  of 
the  lodge  in  which  thou  hast  past  so  many  seasons?" 

"The  wigwam  of  Conanchet  is  warm;  no  wo 
man  of  the  tribe  hath  as  many  furs  as  Narra-mat- 
tah." 

"  He  is  a  great  hunter !  when  they  hear  his  moc- 
cason,  the  beavers  lie  down  to  be  killed !  But  the 
men  of  the  Pale-faces  hold  the  plow.  Does  not 
*  the  driven  snow '  think  of  those  who  fenced  the 
wigwam  of  her  father  from  the  cold,  or  of  the  man 
ner  in  which  the  Yengeese  live  1" 

His  youthful  and  attentive  wife  seemed  to  reflect ; 
but  raising  her  face,  with  an  expression  of  content 
that  could  not  be  counterfeited,  she  shook  her  head 
in  the  negative. 

"  Does  she  never  see  a  fire  kindled  among  the 
lodges,  or  hear  the  whoops  of  warriors  as  they  break 
into  a  settlement  ?" 

"  Many  fires  have  been  kindled  before  her  eyes. 
The  ashes  of  the  JMarragansett  town  are  not  yet 
cold." 

"  Does  not  Narra-mattah  hear  her  father  speak 
ing  to  the  God  of  the  Yengeese  ?  Listen — he  is  ask 
ing  favor  for  his  child !" 

"  The  Great  Spirit  of  the  Narragansett  has  ears 
for  his  people.'' 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  383 

"  But  I  hear  a  softer  voice !  'Tis  a  woman  of  the 
Pale-faces  amorg  her  children :  cannot  the  daugh 
ter  hear?" 

Narra-mattaii,  or  '  the  driven  snow,'  laid  her  hand 
lightly  on  the  arm  of  the  chief,  and  she  looked 
wistfully  and  long  into  his  face,  without  an  answer. 
The  gaze  seemed  to  deprecate  the  anger  that 
might  be  awakened  by  what  she  was  about  to  re 
veal. 

"  Chief  of  my  people,"  she  said,  encouraged  by 
his  still  calm  and  gentle  brow,  to  proceed,  "  what  a 
girl  of  the  clearings  sees  in  her  dreams,  shall  not 
be  hid.  It  is  not  the  lodges  of  her  race,  for  the 
wigwam  of  her  husband  is  warmer.  It  is  not  the 
food  and  clothes  of  a  cunning  people,  for  who  is 
richer  than  the  wife  of  a  great  chief?  It  is  not  her 
fathers  speaking  to  their  Spirit,  for  there  is  none 
stronger  than  Manitou.  Narra-mattah  has  forgot 
ten  all :  she  does  not  wish  to  think  of  things  like 
these.  She  knows  how  to  hate  a  hungry  and  craving 
race.  But  she  sees  one  that  the  wives  of  the  Nar- 
ragansetts  do  not  see.  She  sees  a  woman  with  a 
white  skin ;  her  eye  looks  softly  on  her  child  in  her 
dreams ;  it  is  not  an  eye,  it  is  a  tongue !  It  says, 
what  does  the  wife  of  Conanchet  wish? — is  she 
cold  ?  here  are  furs — is  she  hungry  ?  here  is  venison 
— is  she  tired  ?  the  arms  of  the  pale  woman  open, 
that  an  Indian  girl  may  sleep.  When  there  is  si 
lence  in  the  lodges,  when  Conanchet  and  his  young 
men  lie  down,  then  does  this  pale  woman  speak. 
Sachem,  she  does  not  talk  of  the  battles  of  her 
people,  nor  of  the  scalps  that  her  warriors  have 
taken,  nor  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Pequots  and 
Mohicans  fear  her  tribe.  She  does  not  tell  how  a 
young  Narragansett  should  obey  her  husband,  nor 
how  the  women  must  keep  food  in  the  lodges  for 
the  hunters  that  are  wearied;  her  tongue  useth 
strange  words.  It  names  a  Mighty  and  Just  Spirit , 


384  THE    WEPT 

it  telleth  of  peace,  and  not  of  war ;  it  soundeth  as 
one  talking  from  the  clouds ;  it  is  like  the  falling  of 
the  water  among  rocks.  Narra-mattah  loves  to 
listen,  for  the  words  seem  to  her  like  the  Wish-Ton- 
Wish,  when  he  whistles  in  the  woods." 

Conanchet  had  fastened  a  look  of  deep  and  affec 
tionate  interest  on  the  wild  and  sweet  countenance 
of  the  being  who  stood  before  him.  She  had  spoken 
in  that  attitude  of  earnest  and  natural  eloquence 
that  no  art  can  equal ;  and  when  she  ceased,  he 
laid  a  hand,  in  kind  but  melancholy  fondness,  on  the 
half-inclined  and  motionless  head,  as  he  answered. 

"  This  is  the  bird  of  night,  singing  to  its  young ! 
The  Great  Spirit  of  thy  fathers  is  angry,  that  thou 
livest  in  the  lodge  of  a  Narragansett.  His  sight  is 
too  cunning  to  be  cheated.  He  knows  that  the 
moccason,  and  the  wampum,  and  the  robe  of  fur, 
are  liars ;  he  sees  the  color  of 'the  skin  beneath." 

"  Conanchet,  no ;"  returned  the  female  hurriedly, 
and  with  a  decision  her  timidity  did  not  give  reason 
to  expect.  "  He  seeth  farther  than  the  skin,  and 
knoweth  the  color  of  the  mind.  He  hath  forgotten 
that  one  of  his  girls  is  missing." 

"  It  is  not  so.  The  eagle  of  my  people  was  taken 
into  the  lodges  of  the  Pale-faces.  He  was  young, 
and  they  taught  him  to  sing  with  another  tongue. 
The  colors  of  his  feathers  were  changed,  and  they 
thought  to  cheat  the  Manitou.  But  when  the  door 
was  open,  lie  spread  his  wings  and  flew  back  to  his 
nest.  It  is  not  so.  What  hath  been  done  is  good, 
and  what  will  be  done  is  better.  Come ;  there  is  a 
siraight  path  before  us." 

Thus  saying,  Conanchet  motioned  to  his  wife  to 
follow  towards  the  group  of  captives.  The  foregoing 
dialogue  had  occurred  in  a  place  where  the  two 
parties  were  partially  concealed  from  each  other 
by  the  ruin;  but  as  the  distance  was  so  trifling,  the 
Sachem  and  his  companion  were  soon  confronted 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  385 

with  those  he  sought.  Leaving  his  wife  a  little 
without  the  circle,  Conanchet  advanced,  and  taking 
the  unresisting  and  half-unconscious  Ruth  by  the 
arm,  he  led  her  forward.  He  placed  the  two  fe 
males  in  attitudes  where  each  might  look  the  other 
full  in  the  face.  Strong  emotion  struggled  in  a 
countenance  which,  in  spite  of  its  fierce  mask  of 
war-paint,  could  not  entirely  conceal  its  workings. 

"  See,"  he  said  in  English,  looking  earnestly  from 
one  to  the  other.  "  The  Good  Spirit  is  not  ashamed 
of  his  work.  What  he  hath  done,  he  hath  done; 
Narragansett  nor  Yengeese  can  alter  it.  This  is  the 
white  bird  that  came  from  the  sea,"  he  added, 
touching  the  shoulder  of  Ruth  lightly  with  a  finger, 
"  and  this  the  young,  that  she  warmed  under  her 
wing." 

Then,  folding  his  arms  on  his  naked  breast,  he 
appeared  to  summon  his  energy,  lest,  in  the  scene 
that  he  knew  must  follow,  his  manhood  might  be 
betrayed  into  some  act  unworthy  of  his  name. 

The  captives  were  necessarily  ignorant  of  the 
meaning  of  the  scene  which  they  had  just  witnessed. 
So  many  strange  and  savage-looking  forms  were 
constantly  passing  and  repassing  before  their  eyes, 
that  the  arrival  of  one,  more  or  less,  was  not  likely 
to  be  noted.  Until  she  heard  Conanchet  speak  in 
her  native  tongue,  Ruth  had  lent  no  attention  to  the 
interview  between  him  and  his  wife.  But  the  figura 
tive  language  and  no  less  remarkable  action  of  the 
Narragansett,  had  the  effect  to  arouse  her  suddenly, 
and  in  the  most  exciting  manner,  from  her  melan 
choly. 

No  child  of  tender  age  ever  unexpectedly  came 
before  the  eyes  of  Ruth  Heathcote,  without  painfully 
recalling  the  image  of  the  cherub  she  had  lost.  The 
playful  voice  of  infancy  never  surprised  her  ear, 
without  the  sound  conveying  a  pang  to  the  heart; 
nor  could  allusion,  ever  so  remote,  be  made  to 
33 


386  THE    WEPT 

persons  or  events  that  bore  resemblance  to  the  sad 
incidents  of  her  own  life,  without  quickening  the 
never-dying  pulses  of  maternal  love.  No  wonder, 
then,  that  when  she  found  herself  in  the  situation 
and  under  the  circumstances  described,  nature  grew 
strong  within  her,  and  that  her  mind  caught  glimpses, 
however  dim  and  indistinct  they  might  be,  of  a  truth 
that  the  reader  has  already  anticipated.  Still,  a 
certain  and  intelligible  clue  was  wanting.  Fancy 
had  ever  painted  her  child  in  the  innocence  and 
infancy  in  which  it  had  been  torn  from  her  arms; 
and  here,  while  there  was  so  much  to  correspond 
with  reasonable  expectation,  there  was  little  to 
answer  to  the  long  and  fondly-cherished  picture. 
The  delusion,  if  so  holy  and  natural  a  feeling  may 
thus  be  termed,  had  been  too  deeply  seated  to  be 
dispossessed  at  a  glance.  Gazing  long,  earnestly, 
and  with  features  that  varied  with  every  changing 
feeling,  she  held  the  stranger  at  the  length  of  her 
two  arms,  alike  unwilling  to  release  her  hold,  or  to 
admit  her  closer  to  a  heart  which  might  rightfully 
be  the  property  of  another. 

"  Who  art  thou?"  demanded  the  mother,  in  a  voice 
that  was  tremulous  with  the  emotions  of  that  sacred 
character.  "  Speak,  mysterious  and  lovely  being — • 
who  art  thou  ?" 

Narra-mattah  had  turned  a  terrified  and  imploring 
look  at  the  immovable  and  calm  form  of  the  chief, 
as  if  she  sought  protection  from  him  at  whose  hands 
she  had  been  accustomed  to  receive  it.  But  a  differ 
ent  sensation  took  possession  of  her  mind,  when  she 
heard  sounds  which  had  too  often  soothed  the  ear 
of  infancy,  ever  to  be  forgotten.  Struggling  ceased, 
and  her  pliant  form  assumed  the  attitude  of  intense 
and  entranced  attention.  Her  head  was  bent  aside, 
as  if  the  ear  were  eager  to  drink  in  a  repetition  of 
the  tones,  while  her  bewildered  and  delighted  eye 
still  sought  th$  countenance  of  her  husband. 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  387 

"  Vision  of  the  woods ! — wilt  thou  not  answer  V 
continued  Ruth.  "  If  there  is  reverence  for  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel  in  thine  heart,  answer,  that  1 
may  know  thee !" 

"Hist!  Conanchet!"  murmured  the  wife,  over 
whose  features  the  glow  of  pleased  and  wild  sur 
prise  continued  to  deepen.  "  Come  near,  Sachem , 
the  Spirit  that  talketh  to  Narra-mattah  in  her 
dreams,  is  nigh." 

"Woman  of  the  Yengeese !"  said  the  husband, 
advancing  with  dignity  to  the  spot,  "  let  the  clouds 
blow  from  thy  sight.  Wife  of  a  Narragansett !  see 
clearly.  The  Manitou  of  your  race  speaks  strong. 
He  telleth  a  mother  to  know  her  child !" 

Ruth  could  hesitate  no  longer;  neither  sound  nor 
exclamation  escaped  her,  but  as  she  strained  the 
yielding  frame  of  her  recovered  daughter  to  her 
heart,  it  appeared  as  if  she  strove  to  incorporate 
the  two  bodies  into  one.  A  cry  of  pleasure  and 
astonishment  drew  all  around  her.  Then  came  the 
evidence  of  the  power  of  nature  when  strongly 
awakened.  Age  and  youth  alike  acknowledged  its 
potency,  and  recent  alarms  were  overlooked  in  the 
pure  joy  of  such  a  moment.  The  spirit  of  even 
the  lofty-minded  Conanchet  was  shaken.  Raising 
the  hand,  at  whose  wrist  still  hung  the  bloody  toma 
hawk,  he  veiled  his  face,  and,  turning  aside,  that 
none  might  see  the  weakness  of  so  great  a  warrior, 
he  wept. 


388  THE   WEPT 


CHAPTEE  XXYI. 


"  One  sees  more  devils  than  vast  hell  can  hold ; 
That  is,  the  madman  : — 

MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S  DREAM. 


ON  quitting  the  hill,  Philip  had  summoned  his 
Wampanoags,  and,  supported  by  the  obedient  and 
fierce  Annawon,  a  savage  that  might,  under  better 
auspices,  have  proved  a  worthy  lieutenant  to  Cae 
sar,  he  left  the  fields  of  Wish-Ton-Wish.  Accus 
tomed  to  see  these  sudden  outbreakings  of  temper 
in  their  leaders,  the  followers  of  Conanchet,  who 
would  have  preserved  their  air  of  composure  under 
far  more  trying  circumstances,  saw  him  depart, 
equally  without  question  and  without  alarm.  But 
when  their  own  Sachem  appeared  on  the  ground 
which  was  still  red  with  the  blood  of  the  combat 
ants,  and  made  known  his  intention  to  abandon  a 
conquest  that  seemed  more  than  half  achieved,  he 
was  not  heard  without  murmuring.  The  authority 
of  an  Indian  Chief  is  far  from  despotic,  and  though 
there  is  reason  to  think  it  is  often  aided,  if  not 
generated,  by  the  accidental  causes  of  birth  and 
descent,  it  receives  its  main  support  in  the  personal 
qualities  of  him  who  rules.  Happily  for  the  Narra- 
gansett  leader,  even  his  renowned  father,  the  hapless 
Miantonimoh,  had  not  purchased  a  higher  name  for 
wisdom,  or  for  daring,  than  that  which  had  been 
fairly  won  by  his  still  youthful  son.  The  savage 
humors  and  the  rankling  desire  for  vengeance  in 
the  boldest  of  his  subalterns,  were  made  to  quail 
before  the  menacing  glances  of  an  eye  that  seldom 
threatened  without  performance ;  nor  was  there 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  389 

one  of  them  all,  when  challenged  to  come  forth  to 
brave  the  anger  or  to  oppose  the  eloquence  of  his 
chief,  who  did  not  shrink  from  a  contest  which  ha 
bitual  respect  had  taught  them  to  believe  would 
be 'far  too  unequal  for  success.  Within  less  than  an 
hour  after  Ruth  had  clasped  her  child  to  her  bosom, 
the  invaders  had  altogether  disappeared.  The  dead 
of  their  party  were  withdrawn  and  concealed,  with 
all  the  usual  care,  in  order  that  no  scalp  of  a  warrior 
might  be  left  in  the  hands  of  his  enemies. 

It  was  not  unusual  for  the  Indians  to  retire  satis 
fied  with  the  results  of  their  first  blow.  So  much 
of  their  military  success  was  dependent  on  surprise, 
that  it  oftener  happened  the  retreat  commenced 
with  its  failure,  than  that  victory  was  obtained  by 
perseverance. 

So  long  as  the  battle  raged,  their  courage  was 
equal  to  all  its  dangers ;  but  among  people  who 
made  so  great  a  merit  of  artifice,  it  is  not  at  all 
surprising  that  they  seldom  put  more  to  the  hazard 
than  was  justified  by  the  most  severe  discretion. 
When  it  was  known,  therefore,  that  the  foe  had 
disappeared  in  the  forest,  the  inhabitants  of  the 
village  were  more  ready  to  believe  the  movement 
was  the  result  of  their  own  manful  resistance,  than 
to  seek  motives  that  might  not  prove  so  soothing  to 
their  self-esteem.  The  retreat  was  thought  to  be 
quite  in  rule,  and  though  prudence  forbade  pursuit, 
able  and  well-limbed  scouts  were  sent  on  their  trail, 
as  well  to  prevent  a  renewal  of  the  surprise,  as  to 
enable  the  forces  of  the  Colony  to  know  the  tribe 
of  their  enemies,  and  the  direction  which  they  had 
taken. 

Then  came  a  scene  of  solemn  ceremonies  and  of 
deep  affliction.  Though  the  parties  led  by  Dudley 
and  the  Lieutenant  had  been  so  fortunate  as  to 
escape  with  a  few  immaterial  wounds,  the  soldiers 
headed  by  Content,  with  the  exception  of  those 
33* 


390  THE    WEPT 

already  named,  had  fallen  to  a  man.  Death  had 
struck,  at  a  blow,  twenty  of  the  most  efficient  indi 
viduals,  out  of  that  isolated  and  simple  community. 
Under  circumstances  in  which  victory  was  so  barren 
and  so  dearly  bought,  sorrow  was  a  feeling  far 
.stronger  than  rejoicing.  Exultation  took  the  aspect 
of  humility,  and  while  men  were  conscious  of  their 
well-deserving,  they  were  the  more  sensible  of  their 
dependence  on  a  power  they  could  neither  influence 
nor  comprehend.  The  characteristic  opinions  of  the 
religionists  became  still  more  exalted,  and  the  close 
of  the  day  was  quite  as  remarkable  for  an  exhibi 
tion  of  the  peculiarly  exaggerated  impressions  of 
the  Colonists,  as  its  opening  had  been  frightful  in 
violence  and  blood. 

When  one  of  the  more  active  of  the  runners  re 
turned  with  the  news  that  the  Indians  had  retired 
through  the  forest  with  a  broad  trail,  a  sure  sign 
that  they  meditated  no  further  concealment  near 
the  valley,  and  that  they  had  already  been  traced 
many  miles  on  their  retreat,  the  villagers  returned 
to  their  usual  habitations.  The  dead  were  then  dis 
tributed  among  those  who  claimed  the  nearest  right 
to  the  performance  of  the  last  duties  of  affection; 
and  it  might  have  been  truly  said,  that  mourning 
had  taken  up  its  abode  in  nearly  every  dwelling. 
The  ties  of  blood  were  so  general  in  a  society  thus 
limited,  and,  where  they  failed,  the  charities  of  life 
were  so  intimate  and  so  natural,  that  not  an  indi 
vidual  of  them  all  escaped,  without  feeling  that 
the  events  of  the  day  had  robbed  him,  for  ever,  of 
some  one  on  whom  he  was  partially  dependent  for 
comfort  or  happiness. 

As  the  day  drew  towards  its  close,  the  little  bell 
again  summoned  the  congregation  to  the  church. 
On  this  solemn  occasion,  but  few  of  those  who  still 
lived  to  hear  its  sounds  were  absent.  The  moment 
when  Meek  arose  for  prayer  -vas  one  of  general 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  391 

and  intense  feeling.  The  places  so  lately  occupied 
by  those  who  had  fallen  were  now  empty,  and  they 
resembled  so  many  eloquent  blanks  in  the  descrip 
tion  of  what  had  passed,  expressing  far  more  thai* 
any  language  could  impart.  The  appeal  of  the  di 
vine  was  in  his  usual  strain  of  sublimated  piety, 
mysterious  insights  into  the  hidden  purposes  of 
Providence  being  strangely  blended  with  the  more 
intelligible  wants  and  passions  of  man.  While  he 
gave  Heaven  the  glory  of  the  victory,  he  spoke 
with  a  lofty  and  pretending  humility  of  the  instru 
ments  of  its  power ;  and  although  seemingly  willing 
to  acknowledge  that  his  people  abundantly  deserved 
the  heavy  blow  which  had  alighted  on  them,  there 
was  an  evident  impatience  of  the  agents  by  which 
it  had  been  aniicted*  Tfee  principles  of  tire  secta 
rian  were  s©  singularly  qualified  by  trie  feelings  of 
the  borderer,  that  one  subtle  in  argument  would 
feave  found  little  difficulty  in  detecting  flaws  in  the 
reasoning  of  this  zealot;  but  as  so  laauch  was  ob 
scured  by  metaphysical  mists,  a-ad  so  much  was  left 
for  the  generalities  of  doctrine,  his  hearers,  without 
an  exception,  made  such  an  application  of  what  he 
wttered,  as  apparently  rendered  every  mind  satisfied. 
The  sermon  was  as  extemporaneous  as  the  prayer, 
if  any  thing  can  come  extempore  from  a  mind  so 
drilled  and  fortified  in  opinion.  It  contained  much 
the  same  matter,  delivered  a  little  less  in  the  form 
of  an  apostropfee.  The  stricken  congregation,  while 
ithey  were  encouraged  with  the  belief  that  they 
were  vessels  set  apart  for  some  great  and  glorious 
end  of  Providence,  were  plainly  told  that  they  merited 
far  heavier  affliction  than  this  which  had  now  be 
fallen;  and  they  were  reminded  that  it  was  their 
duty  to  desire  even  condemnation,  that  he  who 
framed  the  heavens  and  the  earth  might  be  glorifi 
ed!  Then  they  heard  comfortable  conclusions,  which 
tnight  reasonably  teach  them  to  expect,  that  though 


392  THE   WEPT 

in  the  abstract  such  were  the  obligations  of  the  rea< 
Christian,  there  was  good  reason  to  think  that  all 
who  listened  to  doctrines  so  pure  would  be  remem 
bered  with  an  especia,  favor. 

So  useful  a  servant  of  the  temple  as  Meek  Wolfe 
did  not  forget  the  practical  application  of  his  sub 
ject  It  is  true,  that  no  visible  emblem  of  the 
cross  was  shown  to  excite  his  hearers,  nor  were 
they  stimulated  to  loosen  blood-hounds  on  the  trail 
of  their  enemies  j  but  the  former  was  kept  suffi 
ciently  before  the  mind's  eye  by  constant  allusions 
to  its  merits,  and  the  Indians  were  pointed  at  as  the 
instruments  by  which  the  great  father  of  evil  hoped 
to  prevent  '  the  wilderness  from  blossoming  like  the 
rose,'  and  *  yielding  the  sweet  savors  of  godliness/ 
Philip  and  Cananchet  were  openly  denounced,  by 
name ;  some  dark  insinuations  being  ma.de,  that  the 
person  of  the  former  was  no  more  than  the  favorite 
tenement  of  Moloch ;  while  the  hearer  was  left  to- 
devise  a  suitable  spirit  for  the  government  of  the 
physical  powers  of  the  other,  from  among  any  of 
the  more  evil  agencies  that  were  named  in  the  Bi 
ble.  Anv  doubts  of  the  lawfulness  of  the  contest,, 
that  might  assail  tender  consciences,  were  brushed 
away  by  a  bold  and  decided  hand.  There  was  no 
attempt  at  justification,,  however ;  for  all  difficulties 
of  this  nature  were  resolved  by  the  imperative  ob 
ligations  of  duty.  A  few  ingenious  allusions  to  the 
manner  in  which  the  Israelites  dispossessed  the  oc 
cupants  of  Judea,  were  of  great  service  in  this  par 
ticular  part  of  the  subj-ect,  since  it  was  not  difficult 
to  convince  men,  who  so  strongly  felt  the  impulses 
of  religious  excitement,  that  they  were  stimulated 
rightfully.  Fortified  by  this  advantage,  Mr.  Wolfe 
manifested  no  desire  to  avoid  the  main  question. 
He  affirmed  that  if  the  empire  of  the  true  faith 
could  be  established  by  no  other  means,  a  circum 
stance  which  he  assumed  it  was  sufficiently  appa- 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  393 

rent  to  all  understandings  could  not  be  done,  he  pro 
nounced  it  the  duty  of  young  and  old,  the  weak  and 
the  strong,  to  unite  in  assisting  to  visit  the  former 
possessors  of  the  country  with  what  he  termed  the 
wrath  of  an  offended  Deity.  He  spoke  of  the  fear 
ful  slaughter  of  the  preceding  winter,  in  which  nei 
ther  years  nor  sex  had  been  spared,  as  a  triumph 
of  the  righteous  cause,  and  as  an  encouragement  to 
persevere.  Then,  by  a  transition  that  was  not  ex 
traordinary  in  an  age  so  remarkable  for  religious 
subtleties,  Meek  returned  to  the  more  mild  and 
obvious  truths  which  pervade  the  doctrines  of  him 
whose  church  he  professed  to  uphold.  His  hearers 
were  admonished  to  observe  lives  of  humility  and 
charity,  and  were  piously  dismissed,  with  his  bene 
diction,  to  their  several  homes. 

The  congregation  quitted  the  building  with  the 
feelings  of  men  who  thought  themselves  favored  by 
peculiar  and  extraordinary  intelligences  with  the 
author  of  all  truth,  while  the  army  of  Mahomet  it 
self  was  scarcely  less  influenced  by  fanaticism  than 
these  blinded  zealots.  There  was  something  so 
grateful  to  human  frailty  in  reconciling  their  re 
sentments  and  their  temporal  interests  to  their  re 
ligious  duties,  that  it  should  excite  little  wonder 
when  we  add  that  most  of  them  were  fully  prepared 
to  become  ministers  of  vengeance  in  the  hands 
of  any  bold  leader.  While  the  inhabitants  of  the 
settlement  were  thus  struggling  between  passions 
so  contradictory,  the  shades  of  evening  gradually 
fell  upon  their  village,  and  then  came  darkness,  with 
the  rapid  strides  with  which  it  follows  the  setting 
of  the  sun  in  a  low  latitude. 

Some  time  before  the  shadows  of  the  trees  were 
getting  the  grotesque  and  exaggerated  forms  which 
precede  the  last  rays  of  the  luminary,  and  while 
the  people  were  still  listening  to  their  pastor,  a  soli 
tary  individual  was  placed  on  a  giddy  eyrie,  whence 


394  THE    WEPT 

fie  might  note  the  movements  of  those  who  dwelt 
in  the  hamlet,  without  being  the  subject  of  obser 
vation  himself.  A  short  spur  of  the  mountain  pro 
jected  into  the  valley,  on  the  side  nearest  to  the 
dwelling  of  the  Heathcotes.  A  little  tumbling 
brook,  which  the  melting  of  the  snows  and  the  oc 
casionally  heavy  rains  of  the  climate  periodically 
increased  into  a  torrent,  had  worn  a  deep  ravine  in 
its  rocky  bosom.  Time,  and  the  constant  action  of 
water,  aided  by  the  driving  storms  of  winter  and 
autumn,  had  converted  many  of  the  different  faces 
of  this  ravine  into  wild-looking  pictures  of  the  resi 
dences  of  men.  There  was  however  one  spot,  in 
particular,  around  which  a  closer  inspection  than 
that  which  the  distance  of  the  houses  in  the  settle 
ment  offered,  might  have  detected  far  more  plausi 
ble  signs  of  the  agency  of  human  hands,  than  any 
that  were  afforded  by  the  fancied  resemblances  of 
fantastic  angles  and  accidental  formations. 

Precisely  at  that  point  where  a  sweep  of  the 
mountain  permitted  the  best  view  of  the  valley,  did 
the  rocks  assume  the  wildest,  the  most  confused,  and 
consequently  the  most  favorable  appearance  for  the 
construction  of  any  residence  which  it  was  desirable 
should  escape  the  curious  eyes  of  the  settlers,  at 
the  same  time  that  it  possessed  the  advantage  of 
overlooking  their  proceedings.  A  hermit  would 
have  chosen  the  place  as  a  spot  suited  to  distant 
and  calm  observation  of  the  world,  while  it  was 
every  way  adapted  to  solitary  reflection  and  ascetic 
devotion.  All  who  have  journeyed  through  the  nar 
row  and  water-worn  vineyards  and  meadows  which 
are  washed  by  the  Rhone,  ere  that  river  pours  its 
tribute  into  the  Lake  of  Leman,  have  seen  some 
such  site,  occupied  by  one  who  has  devoted  his  life 
to  seclusion  and  the  altar,  overhanging  the  village 
of  St.  Maurice,  in  the  Canton  of  Je  valais.  But 
there  is  an  air  of  obtrusiveness  in  the  Swiss  hermits 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  395 

age  that  did  not  belong  to  the  place  of  which  we 
write,  since  the  one  is  perched  upon  its  high  and 
narrow  ledge,  as  if  to  show  the  world  in  what  dan 
gerous  and  circumscribed  limits  God  may  be  wor 
shipped;  while  the  other  sought  exemption  from 
absolute  solitude,  while  it  courted  secrecy  with  the 
most  jealous  caution,  A  small  hut  had  been  erected 
against  the  side  of  the  rock,  in  a  manner  that  pre 
sented  an  oblique  angle.  Care  had  been  taken  to 
surround  it  with  such  natural  objects  as  left  little 
reason  to  apprehend  that  its  real  character  could 
be  known  by  any  who  did  not  absolutely  mount  to 
the  difficult  shelf  on  which  it  stood.  Light  entered 
into  this  primitive  and  humble  abode  by  a  window 
that  looked  into  the  ravine,  and  a  low  door  opened 
on  the  side  next  the  valley.  The  construction  was 
partly  of  stone  and  partly  of  logs,  with  a  roof  of 
bark  and  a  chimney  of  mud  and  sticks. 

One  who,  by  his  severe  and  gloomy  brow,  was  a 
fit  possessor  of  so  secluded  a  tenement,  was,  at  the 
hour  named,  seated  on  a  stone  at  the  most  salient 
angle  of  the  mountain,  and  at  the  place  where  the 
eye  commanded  the  widest  and  least-obstructed  view 
of  the  abodes  of  man  in  the  distance.  Stones  had 
been  rolled  together  in  a  manner  to  form  a  little 
breastwork  in  his  front,  so  that,  had  there  been  any 
wandering  gaze  sweeping  over  the  face  of  the  moun 
tain,  it  was  far  from  probable  that  it  would  have 
detected  the  presence  of  a  man  whose  whole  form, 
with  the  exception  of  the  superior  parts,  was  so 
effectually  concealed. 

It  would  have  been  difficult  to  say,  whether  this 
secluded  being  had  thus  placed  himself  in  order  to 
indulge  in  some  habitual  and  fancied  communication 
with  the  little  world  of  the  valley,  or  whether  he 
sat  at  his  post  in  watchfulness.  There  was  an  ap 
pearance  of  each  of  these  occupations  in  his  air ; 
for  at  times  his  eye  was  melancholy  and  softened, 


396  THE    WEPT 

as  if  his  spirit  found  pleasure  in  the  charities  natu 
ral  to  the  species ;  and  at  others,  the  brows  con 
tracted  with  sternness,  while  the  lips  became  more 
than  usually  compressed,  like  those  of  a  man  who 
threw  himself  on  his  own  innate  resolution  for  sup 
port. 

The  solitude  of  the  place,  the  air  of  universal 
quiet  which  reigned  above,  the  boundless  leafy 
carpet  over  which  the  eye  looked  from  that  elevated 
point,  and  the  breathing  stillness  of  the  bosom  of 
the  woods,  united  to  give  grandeur  to  the  scene. 
The  figure  of  the  tenant  of  the  ravine  was  as  im 
movable  as  any  other  object  of  the  view.  It  seemed, 
in  all  but  color  and  expression,  of  stone.  An  elbow 
was  leaning  on  the  little  screen  in  front,  and  the 
head  was  supported  by  a  hand.  At  the  distance  of 
an  arrow's  flight,  the  eye  might  readily  have  sup 
posed  it  no  more  than  another  of  the  accidental 
imitations  which  had  been  worn  in  the  rock  by  the 
changes  of  centuries.  An  hour  passed,  and  scarce 
a  limb  had  been  changed,  or  a  muscle  relieved. 
Either  contemplation,  or  the  patient  awaiting  of 
some  looked-for  event,  appeared  to  suspend  the  or 
dinary  functions  of  life.  At  length,  an  interruption 
occurred  to  this  extraordinary  inaction.  A  rustling, 
not  louder  than  that  which  would  have  been  made 
by  the  leap  of  a  squirrel,  was  first  heard  in  the 
bushes  above;  it  was  succeeded  by  a  crackling  of 
branches,  and  then  a  fragment  of  a  rock  came 
bounding  down  the  precipice,  until  it  shot  over  the 
head  of  the  still  motionless  hermit,  and  fell,  with  a 
noise  that  drew  a  succession  of  echoes  from  the 
caverns  of  the  place,  into  the  ravine  beneath. 

Notwithstanding  the  suddenness  of  this  interrup 
tion,  and  the  extraordinary  fracas  with  which  it  was 
accompanied,  he,  who  might  be  supposed  to  be  most 
affected  by  it,  manifested  none  of  the  usual  symp 
toms  of  fear  or  surprise.  He  listened  intently,  until 


OF    W1811-TON-WISII.  397 

the  last  sound  had  died  away,  but  it  was  with  ex 
pectation  rather  than  with  alarm.  Arising  slowly, 
he  looked  warily  about  him,  and  then  walking  with  a 
quick  step  along  the  ledge  which  led  to  his  hut,  he 
disappeared  through  its  door.  In  another  minute, 
however,  he  was  again  seen  at  his  former  post ;  a 
short  carabine,  such  as  was  then  used  by  mounted 
warriors,  lying  across  his  knee.  If  doubt  or  per 
plexity  beset  the  mind  of  this  individual,  at  so  pal 
pable  a  sign  that  the  solitude  he  courted  was  in 
danger  of  being  interrupted,  it  was  not  of  a  nature 
sufficiently  strong  to  disturb  the  equanimity  of  his 
aspect.  A  second  time  the  branches  rustled,  and  the 
sounds  proceeded  from  a  lower  part  of  the  precipice, 
as  if  the  foot  that  caused  the  disturbance  was  in 
the  act  of  descending.  Though  no  one  was  visible, 
the  nature  of  the  noise  could  no  longer  he  mistaken. 
It  was  evidently  the  tread  of  a  human  foot,  for  no 
beast  of  a  weight  sufficient  to  produce  so  great  an 
impression,  would  have  chosen  to  rove  across  a  spot 
where  the  support  of  hands  was  nearly  as  necessary 
as  that  of  the  other  limbs. 

"  Come  forward !"  said  he  who  in  all  but  the  ac 
cessories  of  dress  and  hostile  preparation  might  so 
well  be  termed  a  hermit — "  I  am  already  here." 

The  words  were  not  given  to  the  air,  for  one  sud 
denly  appeared  on  the  ledge  at  the  side  next  the 
settlement,  and  within  twenty  feet  of  the  speaker. 
When  glance  met  glance,  the  surprise  which  evi 
dently  took  possession  of  the  intruder  and  of  him 
who  appeared  to  claim  a  better  right  to  be  where 
they  met,  seemed  mutual.  The  carabine  of  the 
latter,  and  a  musket  carried  by  the  former,  fell  into 
the  dangerous  line  of  aim  at  the  same  instant,  and 
in  a  moment  they  were  thrown  upwards  again,  as 
if  a  common  impulse  controlled  them.  The  resident 
signed  to  the  other  1o  draw  nighcr,  and  then  every 
34 


398  THE    WEPT 

appearance  of  hostility  disappeared  in  that  sort  of 
familiarity  which  confidence  begets. 

"  How  is  it,"  said  the  former  to  his  guest,  when 
both  were  calmly  seated  behind  the  little  screen  of 
stones,  "  that  thou  hast  fallen  upon  this  secret  place? 
The  foot  of  stranger  hath  not  often  trod  these  rocks, 
and  no  man  before  thee  hath  ever  descended  the 
precipice." 

"  A  moccason  is  sure,"  returned  the  other  with 
Indian  brevity.  "  My  father  hath  a  good  eye.  He 
can  see  very  far  from  the  door  of  his  lodge." 

"  Thou  knowest  that  the  men  of  my  color  speak 
often  to  their  Good  Spirit,  and  they  do  not  love  to  ask 
his  favor  in  the  highways.  This  place  is  sacred  to 
his  holy  name." 

The  intruder  was  the  young  Sachem  of  the  Nar- 
ragansetts,  and  he  who,  notwithstanding  this  plausi 
ble  apology,  so  palpably  sought  secrecy  rather  than 
solitude,  was  the  man  that  has  often  been  introduced 
into  these  pages  under  the  shade  of  mystery.  The 
instant  recognition  and  the  mutual  confidence  re 
quire  no  further  explanation,  since  enough  has  al 
ready  been  developed  in  the  course  of  the  narrative, 
to  show  that  they  were  no  strangers  to  each  other. 
Still  the  meeting  had  not  taken  place  without  un 
easiness  on  the  one  part,  and  great  though  admirably 
veiled  surprise  on  the  other.  As  became  his  high 
station  and  lofty  character,  the  bearing  of  Conan- 
chet  betrayed  none  of  the  littleness  of  a  vulgar  cu 
riosity.  He  met  his  ancient  acquaintance  with  the 
calm  dignity  of  his  rank,  and  it  would  have  been 
difficult  for  the  most  inquiring  eye  to  have  detected 
a  wandering  glance,  a  single  prying  look,  or  any 
other  sign  that  he  deemed  the  place  at  all  extraor 
dinary  for  such  an  interview.  He  listened  to  the  little 
explanation  of  the  other,  with  grave  courtesy,  and 
suffered  a  short  time  to  elapse  before  he  made  any 
reply. 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH. 


399 


"  The  Manitou  of  the  pale-men,"  he  then  said 
"  should  be  pleased  with  my  father.  His  words  are 
often  in  the  ears  of  the  Great  Spirit !  The  trees 
and  the  rocks  know  them." 

"  Like  all  of  a  sinful  and  fallen  race,"  returned 
the  stranger  with  the  severe  air  of  the  age,  "  I  have 
much  need  of  my  askings.  But  why  dost  thou  think 
that  my  voice  is  so  often  heard  in  this  secret  place?" 

The  finger  of  Conanchet  pointed  to  the  worn  rock 
at  his  feet,  and  his  eye  glanced  furtively  at  the 
beaten  path  which  led  between  the  spot  and  the 
door  of  the  lodge. 

"  A  Yengeese  hath  a  hard  heel,  but  it  is  softer 
than  stone.  The  hoof  of  the  deer  would  pass  many 
times,  to  leave  such  a  trail." 

"  Thou  art  quick  of  eye,  Narragansett,  and  yet 
thy  judgment  may  be  deceived.  My  tongue  is  not 
the  only  one  that  speaketh  to  the  God  of  my 
people." 

The  Sachem  bent  his  head  slightly,  in  acquies 
cence,  as  if  unwilling  to  press  the  subject.  But  his 
companion  was  not  so  easily  satisfied,  for  he  felt  the 
consciousness  of  a  fruitless  attempt  at  deception 
goading  him  to  some  plausible  means  of  quieting 
the  suspicions  of  the  Indian. 

"That  I  am  now  alone,  may  be  matter  of  pleasure 
or  of  accident,"  he  added ;  "  thou  knowest  that  this 
hath  been  a  busy  and  a  bloody  day  among  the  pale- 
men,  and  there  are  dead  and  dying  in  their  lodges. 
One  who  hath  no  wigwam  of  his  o\vn  may  have 
found  time  to  worship  by  himself." 

"  The  mind  is  very  cunning,"  returned  Conanchet; 
"  it  can  hear  when  the  ear  is  deaf — it  can  see  when 
the  eye  is  shut.  My  father  hath  spoken  to  the  Good 
Spirit,  with  the  rest  of  his  tribe." 

As  the  chief  concluded,  he  pointed  significantly 
towards  the  distant  church,  out  of  which  the  excited 
congregation  we  have  described  was  at  that  moment 


400  THE    WEPT 

pouring  into  the  green  and  little-trodden  street  of 
the  hamlet.  The  other  appeared  to  understand  his 
meaning,  and,  at  the  same  instant,  to  feel  the  folly, 
as  well  as  the  uselessness,  of  attempting  any  longer 
to  mislead  one  that  already  knew  so  much  of  his 
former  mode  of  life. 

"  Indian,  thou  sayest  true,"  he  rejoined  gloomily  : 
"  the  mind  seeth  far,  and  it  seeth  often  in  the  bitter 
ness  of  sorrow.  My  spirit  was  communing  with  the 
spirits  of  those  thou  seest,  when  thy  step  was  first 
heard ;  besides  thine  own,  the  feet  of  man  never 
mounted  to  this  place,  except  it  be  of  those  who 
minister  to  my  bodily  wants.  Thou  sayest  true ;  the 
mental  sight  is  keen ;  and  far  beyond  those  distant 
hills,  on  which  the  last  rays  of  the  setting  sun  are 
now  shining  so  gloriously,  doth  mine  often  bear  me 
in  spirit.  Thou  wast  once  my  fellow-lodger,  youth, 
and  much  pleasure  had  I  in  striving  to  open  thy 
young  mind  to  the  truths  of  our  race,  and  to  teach 
thee  to  speak  with  the  tongue  of  a  Christian ;  but 
years  have  passed  away — hark  !  There  cometh  one 
up  the  path.  Hast  thou  dread  of  a  Yengeese  ?" 

The  calm  mien  with  which  Conanchet  had  been 
listening,  changed  to  a  cold  smile.  His  hand  had 
felt  for  the  lock  of  the  musket,  some  time  before  his 
companion  had  betrayed  any  consciousness  of  the 
approaching  footstep;  but  until  questioned,  no  change 
of  countenance  was  visible. 

"  Is  my  father  afraid  for  his  friend  T'  he  asked, 
pointing  in  the  direction  of  him  who  approached. 
"  Is  it  an  armed  warrior?" 

"  No :  he  cometh  with  the  means  of  sustaining  a 
burthen  that  must  be  borne,  until  it  pleaseth  him 
who  knoweth  what  is  good  for  all  his  creatures  to 
ease  me  of  it.  It  may  be  the  parent  of  her  thou 
hast  this  day  restored  to  her  friends,  or  it  may  be 
the  brother;  for,  at  times,  I  owe  this  kindness  to 
different  members  of  that  worthy  family." 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  401 

A  look  of  intelligence  shot  across  the  swarthy 
features  of  the  chief.  His  decision  appeared  taken. 
Arising,  he  left  his  weapon  at  the  feet  of  his  com 
panion,  and  moved  swiftly  along  the  ledge,  as  if  to 
meet  the  intruder.  In  another  instant  he  returned, 
bearing  a  little  bundle  closely  enveloped  in  belts  of 
richly-beaded  wampum.  Placing  the  latter  gently 
by  the  side  of  the  old  man,  for  time  had  changed 
the  color  of  the  solitary's  hair  to  gray,  he  said,  in  a 
low,  quick  voice,  pointing  with  significance  at  what 
he  had  done — 

"  The  Messenger  will  not  go  back  with  an  empty 
hand.  My  father  is  wise  ;  he  will  say  what  is  good." 

There  was  little  time  for  further  explanation. 
The  door  of  the  hut  had  scarcely  closed  on  Co- 
nanchet,  before  Mark  Heathcote  appeared  at  the 
point  where  the  path  bent  around  the  angle  of  the 
precipice. 

"  Thou  knowest  what  hath  passed,  and  wilt  suffer 
me  to  depart  with  brief  discourse,"  said  the  young 
man,  placing  food  at  the  feet  of  him  he  came  to 
seek;  "ha!  what  hast  here? — didst  gain  this  in  the 
fray  of  the  morning  ?" 

"it  is  booty  that  I  freely  bestow;  take  it  to  the 
house  of  thy  father.  It  is  left  with  that  object.  Now 
tell  me  of  the  manner  in  which  death  hath  dealt 
with  our  people,  for  thou  knowest  that  necessity 
drove  me  from  among  them,  so  soon  as  liberty  was 
granted." 

Mark  showed  no  disposition  to  gratify  the  other's 
wish.  He  gazed  on  the  bundle  of  Conanchet,  as  if 
his  eye  had  never  before  looked  on  a  similar  object, 
and  keenly  contending  passions  were  playing  about 
a  brow  that  was  seldom  as  tranquil  as  suited  the 
self-denying  habits  of  the  times  and  country. 

"It  shall  be  done,  Narragansett !"  he  said,  speaking 
between  his  clenched  teeth ;  "  it  shall  be  done !" 
Then  turning  on  his  heel,  he  stalked  along  the  giddy 
34  * 


402  THE    WEPT 

path  with  a  rapidity  of  stride  that  kept  the  other 
in  fearful  suspense  for  his  safety,  until  his  active 
form  had  disappeared. 

The  recluse  arose,  and  sought  the  occupant  of  his 
humble  abode. 

"  Come  forth,"  he  said,  opening  the  narrow  door 
for  the  passage  of  the  Chief.  "The  youth  hath 
departed  with  thy  burthen,  and  thou  art  now  alone 
with  an  ancient  associate." 

Conanchet  reappeared  at  the  summons,  but  it 
was  with  an  eye  less  glowing  and  a  brow  less  stern 
than  when  he  entered  the  little  cabin.  As  he  moved 
slowly  to  the  stone  he  had  before  occupied,  his  step 
was  arrested  for  a  moment,  and  a  look  of  melan 
choly  regret  seemed  to  be  cast  at  the  spot  where 
he  had  laid  the  bundle.  Conquering  his  feelings, 
however,  in  the  habitual  self-command  of  his  people, 
he  resumed  his  seat,  with  the  air  of  one  that  was 
grave  by  nature,  while  he  appeared  to  exert  no 
effort  in  order  to  preserve  the  admirable  equanimity 
of  his  features.  A  long  and  thoughtful  silence  suc 
ceeded,  and  then  the  solitary  spoke. 

"  We  have  made  a  friend  of  the  Narragansett 
Chief,"  he  said,  "and  this  league  with  Philip  is 
broken?" 

"  Yengeese,"  returned  the  other,  "  I  am  full  of 
the  blood  of  Sachems." 

"  Why  should  the  Indian  and  the  white  do  each 
other  this  violence  1  The  earth  is  large,  and  there 
is  place  for  men  of  all  colors  arid  of  all  nations  on 
its  surface." 

"  My  father  hath  found  but  little,"  said  the  other, 
bestowing  such  a  cautious  glance  at  the  narrow 
limits  of  his  host,  as  at  once  betrayed  the  sarcastic 
purport  of  his  words,  while  it  equally  bespoke  the 
courtesy  of  his  mind. 

"  A  light-minded  and  vain  prince  is  seated  on  the 
throne  of  a  once-godly  nation,  Chief,  and  darkness 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  403 

has  again  come  over  a  land  which  of  late  shone 
with  a  clear  and  shining  light !  The  just  are  made 
to  flee  from  the  habitations  of  their  infancy,  and  the 
temples  of  the  elect  are  abandoned  to  the  abomi 
nations  of  idolatry.  Oh  England  !  England !  when 
will  thy  cup  of  bitterness  be  full? — when  shall  this 
judgment  pass  from  thee  ?  My  spirit  groaneth  over 
thy  fall — yea,  my  inmost  soul  is  saddened  with  the 
spectacle  of  thy  misery !" 

Conanchet  was  too  delicate  to  regard  the  glazed 
eye  and  flushed  forehead  of  the  speaker,  but  he 
listened  in  amazement  and  in  ignorance.  Such  ex 
pressions  had  often  met  his  ear  before,  and  though 
his  tender  years  had  probably  prevented  their  pro 
ducing  much  effect,  now,  that  he  again  heard  them 
in  his  manhood,  they  conveyed  no  intelligible  mean 
ing  to  his  mind.  Suddenly  laying  a  finger  on  the 
knee  of  his  companion,  he  said — 

"  The  arm  of  my  father  was  raised  on  the  side 
of  the  Yengeese,  to-day ;  yet  they  give  him  no  seat 
at  their  council-fire !" 

"  The  sinful  man,  who  ruleth  in  the  island  whence 
my  people  came,  hath  an  arm  that  is  long  as  his 
mind  is  vain.  Though  debarred  from  the  councils 
of  this  valley,  Chief,  time  hath  been,  when  my  voice 
was  heard  in  councils  that  struck  heavily  at  the 
power  of  his  race.  These  eyes  have  seen  justice 
done  on  him  who  gave  existence  to  the  double- 
tongued  instrument  of  Belial,  that  now  governeth 
a  rich  and  glorious  realm !" 

"My  father  hath  taken  the  scalp  of  a  great 
chief!" 

"  I  helped  to  take  his  head !"  returned  the  soli 
tary,  a  ray  of  bitter  exultation  gleaming  through 
the  habitual  austerity  of  his  brow. 

"  Come. — The  eagle  flies  above  the  clouds,  that 
he  may  move  his  wings  freely.  The  panther  leaps 
longest  on  the  widest  plain ;  the  biggest  fish  swim 


404  THE    WEPT 

in  the  deep  water.  My  father  cannot  stretch  him 
self  between  these  rocks.  He  is  too  big  to  lie  down 
in  a  little  wigwam.  The  woods  are  wide;  let  him 
change  the  color  of  his  skin,  and  be  a  gray  head  at 
the  council-fire  of  my  nation.  The  warriors  will 
listen  to  what  he  says,  for  his  hand  hath  done  a 
strong  deed !" 

"  It  may  not  be — it  may  not  be,  Narragansett 
That  which  hath  been  generated  in  the  spirit,  must 
abide,  and  it  would  be  '  easier  for  the  blackamoor 
to  become  white,  or  for  the  leopard  to  change  his 
spots,'  than  for  one  who  hath  felt  the  power  of  the 
Lord,  to  cast  aside  his  gifts.  But  I  meet  thy  prof 
fers  of  amity  in  a  charitable  and  forgiving  spirit. 
My  mind  is  ever  with  my  people ;  yet  is  there  place 
for  other  friendships.  Break  then  this  league  with 
the  evil-minded  and  turbulent  Philip,  and  let  the 
hatchet  be  for  ever  buried  in  the  path  between  thy 
village  and  the  towns  of  the  Yengeese." 

"  Where  is  my  village  ?  There  is  a  dark  place 
near  the  islands  on  the  shores  of  the  Great  Lake ; 
but  I  see  no  lodges." 

"We  will  rebuild  thy  towns,  and  people  them 
anew.  Let  there  be  peace  between  us." 

"My  mind  is  ever  with  my  people;"  returned 
the  Indian,  repeating  the  other's  words,  with  an 
emphasis  that  could  not  be  mistaken. 

A  long  and  melancholy  pause  succeeded;  and 
when  the  conversation  was  renewed,  it  had  refer 
ence  to  those  events  which  had  taken  place  in  the 
fortunes  of  each,  since  the  time  when  they  were 
both  tenants  of  the  block-house  that  stood  amid  the 
ancient  habitations  of  the  Heathcotes.  Each  ap 
peared  too  well  to  comprehend  the  character  of  the 
other,  to  attempt  any  further  efforts  towards  pro 
ducing  a  change  of  purpose;  and  darkness  had 
gathered  about  the  place,  before  they  arose  to  enter 
the  hut  of  the  solitary. 


405 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH. 


CHAPTER  XXYII. 


"  Sleep,  thou  hast  been  a  grandsire,  and  begot 
A  father  to  me:  and  thou  hast  created 
A  mother  and  two  brothers."" 

OYMBELINE 


THE  short  twilight  was  already  passed,  when  old 
Mark  Heathcote  ended  the  evening  prayer.  The 
mixed  character  of  the  remarkable  events  of  that 
day  had  given  birth  to  a  feeling,  which  could  find 
no"  other  relief  than  that  which  flowed  from  the 
usual  zealous,  confiding,  and  exalted  outpouring  of 
the  spirit.  On  the  present  occasion,  he  had  even 
resorted  to  an  extraordinary,  and,  what  one  less 
devout  might  be  tempted  to  think,  a  supererogatory 
offering  of  thanksgiving  and  praise.  After  dismiss 
ing  the  dependants  of  the  establishment,  supported 
by  the  arm  of  his  son,  he  had  withdrawn  into  an 
inner  apartment,  and  there,  surrounded  only  by 
those  who  had  the  nearest  claims  on  his  affections, 
the  old  man  again  raised  his  voice  to  laud  the  Being, 
who,  in  the  midst  of  so  much  general  grief,  had 
deigned  to  look  upon  his  particular  race  with  the 
eyes  of  remembrance  and  of  favor.  He  spoke  of 
his  recovered  grand-child  by  name,  and  he  dealt 
with  the  whole  subject  of  her  captivity  among  the 
heathen,  and  her  restoration  to  the  foot  of  the  altar, 
with  the  fervor  of  one  who  saw  the  wise  decrees 
of  Providence  in  the  event,  and  with  a  tenderness 
of  sentiment  that  age  was  far  from  having  extin 
guished.  It  was  at  the  close  of  this  private  and 
peculiar  worship,  that  we  return  into  the  presence 
of  the  family. 

The  spirit  of  reform  had  driven  those,  who  so 


406  THE    WEPT 

violently  felt  its  influence,  into  many  usages  that, 
to  say  the  least,  were  quite  as  ungracious  to  the 
imagination,  as  the  customs  they  termed  idolatrous 
were  obnoxious  to  the  attacks  of  their  own  unac 
commodating  theories.  The  first  Protestants  had 
expelled  so  much  from  the  service  of  the  altar,  that 
little  was  left  for  the  Puritan  to  destroy,  without 
incurring  the  risk  of  leaving  it  naked  of  its  loveli 
ness.  By  a  strange  substitution  of  subtlety  for  hu 
mility,  it  was  thought  pharisaical  to  bend  the  knee 
in  public,  lest  the  great  essential  of  spiritual  worship 
might  be  supplanted  by  the  more  attainable  merit 
of  formula ;  and  while  rigid  aspects,  and  prescribed 
deportments  of  a  new  character,  were  observed 
with  all  the  zeal  of  converts,  ancient  and  even 
natural  practices  were  condemned,  chiefly,  we  be 
lieve,  from  that  necessity  of  innovation  which  ap 
pears  to  be  an  unavoidable  attendant  of  all  plans  of 
improvement,  whether  they  are  successful  or  the 
reverse.  But  though  the  Puritans  refused  to  bow 
their  stubborn  limbs  when  the  eye  of  man  was  on 
them,  even  while  asking  boons  suited  to  their  own 
sublimated  opinions,  it  was  permitted  to  assume  in 
private  an  attitude  which  was  thought  to  admit  of 
so  gross  an  abuse,  inasmuch  as  it  infers  a  claim  to 
a  religious  vitality,  while  in  truth  the  soul  might 
only  be  slumbering  in  the  security  of  mere  moral 
pretension. 

On  the  present  occasion,  they  who  worshipped 
in  secret  had  bent  their  bodies  to  the  humblest 
posture  of  devotion.  When  Ruth  Heathcote  arose 
from  her  knees,  it  was  with  a  hand  clasped  in  that 
of  the  child  whom  her  recent  devotion  was  well 
suited  to  make  her  think  had  been  rescued  from  a 
condition  far  more  gloomy  than  that  of  the  grave. 
She  had  used  a  gentle  violence  to  force  the  won 
dering  being  at  her  side  to  join,  so  far  as  externals 
could  go.  in  the  prayer;  and.  now  it  was  ended,  she 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  407 

sought  the  countenance  of  her  daughter,  in  order 
to  read  the  impression  the  scene  had  produced,  with 
all  the  solicitude  of  a  Christian,  heightened  by  the 
tenderest  maternal  love. 

Narra-mattah,  as  we  shall  continue  to  call  her, 
in  air,  expression,  and  attitude,  resembled  one  who 
had  a  fancied  existence  in  the  delusion  of  some  ex 
citing  dream.  Her  ear  remembered  sounds  which 
had  so  often  been  repeated  in  her  infancy,  and.  her 
memory  recalled  indistinct  recollections  of  most  of 
the  objects  and  usages  that  were  so  suddenly  re 
placed  before  her  eyes ;  but  the  former  now  con 
veyed  their  meaning  to  a  mind  that  had  gained  its 
strength  under  a  very  different  system  of  theology, 
and  the  latter  came  too  late  to  supplant  usages  that 
were  rooted  in  her  affections  by  the  aid  of  all  those 
wild  and  seductive  habits,  that  are  known  to  become 
nearly  unconquerable  in  those  who  have  long  been 
subject  to  their  influence.  She  stood,  therefore,  in 
the  centre  of  the  grave,  self-restrained  group  of 
her  nearest  kin,  like  an  alien  to  their  blood,  re 
sembling  some  timid  and  but  half-tamed  tenant  of 
the  air,  that  human  art  had  endeavored  to  domesti 
cate,  by  placing  it  in  the  society  of  the  nfbre  tran 
quil  and  confiding  inhabitants  of  the  aviary. 

Notwithstanding  the  strength  of  her  affections, 
and  her  devotion  to  all  the  natural  duties  of  her 
station,  Ruth  Heathcote  was  not  now  to  learn  the 
manner  in  which  she  was  to  subdue  any  violence 
in  their  exhibition.  The  first  indulgence  of  joy  and 
gratitude  was  over,  and  in  its  place  appeared  the 
never-tiring,  vigilant,  engrossing,  but  regulated 
watchfulness,  which  the  events  would  naturally 
create.  The  doubts,  misgivings,  and  even  fearful 
apprehensions,  that  beset  her,  were  smothered  in 
an  appearance  of  satisfaction ;  and  something  like 
gleamings  of  happiness  were  again  seen  playing 


408  THE    WEPT 

about  a  brow  that  had  so  long  been  clouded  with 
an  unobtrusive  but  corroding  care. 

"And  thou  recallest  thine  infancy,  my  Ruth?" 
asked  the  mother,  when  the  respectful  period  of 
silence,  which  ever  succeeded  prayer  in  that  family, 
was  passed;  "  thy  thoughts  have  not  been  altogether 
strangers  to  us,  but  nature  hath  had  its  place  in  thy 
heart.  Tell  us,  child,  of  thy  wanderings  in  the  forest, 
and  of  the  sufferings  that  one  so  tender  must  have 
undergone  among  a  barbarous  people.  There  is 
pleasure  in  listening  to  all  thou  hast  seen  and  felt, 
now  that  we  know  there  is  an  end  to  unhappiness." 

She  spoke  to  an  ear  that  was  deaf  to  language  like 
this.  Narra-mattah  evidently  understood  her  words, 
while  their  meaning  was  wrapped  in  an  obscurity 
that  she  neither  wished  to  nor  was  capable  of  com 
prehending.  Keeping  a  gaze,  in  which  pleasure  and 
wonder  were  powerfully  blended,  on  that  soft  look 
of  affection  which  beamed  from  her  mother's  eye, 
she  felt  hurriedly  among  the  folds  of  her  dress,  and 
drawing  a  belt  that  was  gaily  ornamented  after  the 
most  ingenious  fashion  of  her  adopted  people,  she 
approached  her  half-pleased,  half-distressed  parent, 
and,  witl^hands  that  trembled  equally  with  timidity 
and  pleasure,  she  arranged  it  around  her  person  in 
a  manner  to  show  its  richness  to  the  best  advantage. 
Pleased  with  her  performance,  the  artless  being 
eagerly  sought  approbation  in  eyes  that  bespoke 
little  else  than  regret.  Alarmed  at  an  expression  she 
could  not  translate,  the  gaze  of  Narra-mattah  wan 
dered,  as  if  it  sought  support  against  some  sensation 
to  which  she  was  a  stranger.  Whittal  Ring  had 
stolen  into  the  room,  and  missing  the  customary 
features  of  her  own  cherished  home,  the  looks  of 
the  startled  creature  rested  on  the  countenance  of 
the  witless  wanderer.  She  pointed  eagerly  at  the 
work  of  her  hands,  appealing  by  an  eloquent  and 


OF   WISII-TON-WISH.  409 

artless  gesture  to  the  taste  of  one  who  should  know 
whether  she  had  done  well. 

"Bravely!"  returned  Whittal,  approaching  near 
er  to  the  subject  of  his  admiration — "  'tis  a  brave 
belt,  and  none  but  the  wife  of  a  Sachem  could  make 
so  rare  a  gift !" 

The  girl  folded  her  arms  meekly  on  her  bosom, 
and  again  appeared  satisfied  with  herself  and  with 
the  world. 

"  Here  is  the  hand  of  him  visible  who  dealeth  in 
all  wickedness,"  said  the  Puritan.  "  To  corrupt  the 
heart  with  vanities,  and  to  mislead  the  affections  by 
luring  them  to  the  things  of  life,  is  the  guile  in 
which  he  delighteth.  A  fallen  nature  lendeth  but 
too  ready  aid.  We  must  deal  with  the  child  in  fervor 
and  watchfulness,  or  better  that  her  bones  were  lying 
by  the  side  of  those  little  ones  of  thy  flock,  who  are 
already  inheritors  of  the  promise." 

Respect  kept  Ruth  silent;  but,  while  she  sorrowed 
over  the  ignorance  of  her  child,  natural  affection 
was  strong  at  her  heart.  With  the  tact  of  a  woman 
and  the  tenderness  of  a  mother,  she  both  saw  and 
felt  that  severity  was  not  the  means  to  effect  the 
improvement  they  desired.  Taking  a  seat  herself, 
she  drew  her  child  to  her  person,  and,  first  imploring 
silence  by  a  glance  at  those  around  her,  she  pro 
ceeded,  in  a  manner  that  was  dictated  by  the  mys 
terious  influence  of  nature,  to  fathom  the  depth  of 
her  daughter's  mind. 

"Come  nearer,  Narra-mattah ;"  she  said,  using 
the  name  to  which  the  other  would  alone  answer. 
"  Thou  art  still  in  thy  youth,  my  child;  but  it  hath 
pleased  him  whose  will  is  law,  to  have  made  thee 
the  witness  of  many  changes  in  this  varying  life. 
Tell  me  if  thou  recallest  the  days  of  infancy,  and 
if  thy  thoughts  ever  returned  to  thy  father's  house, 
during  those  weary  years  thou  wast  kept  from  our 
view  ?' 

35 


410  THE    WEP'l 

Ruth  used  gentle  force  to  draw  her  daughter 
nearer  while  speaking,  and  the  latter  sunk  into  that 
posture  from  which  she  had  just  arisen,  kneeling,  as 
she  had  often  done  in  infancy,  at  her  mother's  side. 
The  attitude  was  too  full  of  tender  recollections 
not  to  be  grateful,  and  the  half-alarmed  being  of 
the  forest  was  suffered  to  retain  it  during  most  of 
the  dialogue  that  followed.  But  while  she  was  thus 
obedient  in  person,  by  the  vacancy  or  rather  wonder 
of  an  eye  that  was  so  eloquent  to  express  all  the 
emotions  and  knowledge  of  which  she  was  the  mis 
tress,  Narra-mattah  plainly  manifested  that  little 
more  than  the  endearment  of  her  mother's  words 
and  manner  was  intelligible.  Ruth  saw  the  mean 
ing  of  her  hesitation ;  and,  smothering  the  pang  it 
caused,  she  endeavored  to  adapt  her  language  to  the 
habits  of  one  so  artless. 

"  Even  the  gray  heads  of  thy  people  were  once 
young,"  she  resumed ;  "  and  they  remember  the 
lodges  of  their  fathers.  Does  my  daughter  ever  think 
of  the  time  when  she  played  among  the  children  of 
the  Pale-faces?" 

The  attentive  being  at  the  knee  of  Ruth  listened 
greedily.  Her  knowledge  of  the  language  of  her 
childhood  had  been  sufficiently  implanted  before 
her  captivity,  and  it  had  been  too  often  exercised 
by  intercourse  with  the  whites,  and  more  particu 
larly  with  Whittal  Ring,  to  leave  her  in  any  doubt 
of  the  meaning  of  what  she  now  heard.  Stealing 
a  timid  look  over  a  shoulder,  she  sought  the  coun 
tenance  of  Martha,  and,  studying  her  lineaments 
for  near  a  minute  with  intense  regard,  she  laughed 
aloud  in  the  contagious  merriment  of  an  Indian  girl. 

"  Thou  hast  not  forgotten  us  !  That  glance  at  hei 
who  was  the  companion  of  thy  infancy  assures  me, 
and  we  shall  soon  again  possess  our  Ruth  in  affec 
tion,  as  we  now  possess  her  in  the  body.  I  will  not 
speak  to  thee  of  that  fearful  night  when  the  vio- 


OP    WISH-TON-WISH.  411 

lence  of  the  savage  robbed  us  of  thy  presence,  nor 
of  the  bitter  sorrow  which  beset  us  at  thy  loss;  but 
there  is  one  who  must  still  be  known  to  thee,  my 
child ;  He  who  sitteth  above  the  clouds,  who  hold- 
eth  the  earth  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand,  and  who 
looketh  in  mercy  on  all  that  journey  on  the  path  to 
which  his  own  finger  pointeth.  Hath  he  yet  a  place 
in  thy  thoughts?  Thou  rememberest  His  Holy  Name, 
and  still  thinkest  of  his  power  ?" 

The  listener  bent  her  head  aside,  as  if  to  catch 
the  full  meaning  of  what  she  heard,  the  shadows  of 
deep  reverence  passing  over  a  face  that  had  so  lately 
been  smiling.  After  a  pause,  she  audibly  murmured 
the  word — 

"  Manitou." 

"  Manitou,  or  Jehovah ;  God,  or  King  of  Kings, 
and  Lord  of  Lords  !  it  mattereth  little  which  term  is 
used  to  express  his  power.  Thou  knowest  him  then, 
and  hast  never  ceased  to  call  upon  his  name  ?" 

"  Narra-mattah  is  a  woman.  She  is  afraid  to  speak 
to  the  Manitou  aloud.  He  knows  the  voices  of  the 
chiefs,  and  opens  his  ears  when  they  ask  help." 

The  Puritan  groaned,  but  Ruth  succeeded  in 
quelling  her  own  anguish,  lest  she  should  disturb  the 
reviving  confidence  of  her  daughter. 

"  This  may  be  the  Manitou  of  an  Indian,"  she 
said,  "  but  it  is  not  the  Christian's  God.  Thou  art 
of  a  race  which  worships  differently,  and  it  is  proper 
that  thou  shouldst  call  on  the  name  of  the  Deity  of 
thy  fathers.  Even  the  Narragansett  teacheth  this 
truth  !  Thy  skin  is  white,  and  thy  ears  should  heark 
en  to  the  traditions  of  the  me^  of  thy  blood." 

The  head  of  the  daughter  drooped  at  this  allusion 
to  her  color,  as  if  she  would  fain  conceal  the  morti 
fying  truth  from  every  eye ;  but  she  had  not  time 
for  answer,  ere  Whittal  Ring  drew  near,  and  point 
ing  to  the  burning  color  of  her  cheeks,  that  were 


412  THE    WEPT 

deepened  as  much  with  shame  as  with  the  heats  of 
an  American  sun,  he  said — 

"  The  wife  of  the  Sachem  hath  begun  to  change. 
She  will  soon  be  like  Nipset,  all  red — See,"  he  added, 
laying  a  finger  on  a  part  of  his  own  arm  where  the 
sun  and  the  winds  had  not  yet  destroyed  the  original 
color ;  "  the  Evil  Spirit  poured  water  into  his  blood 
too,  but  it  will  come  out  again.  As  soon  as  he  is  so 
dark  that  the  Evil  Spirit  will  not  know  him,  he  will 
go  on  the  war-path ;  and  then  the  lying  Pale-faces 
may  dig  up  the  bones  of  their  fathers,  and  move 
towards  the  sun-rise,  or  his  lodge  will  be  lined  with 
hair  of  the  color  of  a  deer !" 

"And  thou,  my  daughter!  canst  thou  hear  this 
threat  against  the  people  of  thy  nation — of  thy 
blood — of  thy  God — without  a  shudder  ?" 

The  eye  of  Narra-mattah  seemed  in  doubt;  still 
it  regarded  Whittal  with  its  accustomed  look  of 
kindness.  The  innocent,  full  of  his  imaginary  glory, 
raised  his  hand  in  exultation,  and  by  gestures  that 
could  not  easily  be  misunderstood,  he  indicated  the 
manner  in  which  he  intended  to  rob  his  victims  of 
the  usual  trophy.  While  the  youth  was  enacting 
the  disgusting  but  expressive  pantomime,  Ruth 
watched  the  countenance  of  her  child  in  nearly 
breathless  agony.  She  would  have  been  relieved 
by  a  single  glance  of  disapprobation,  by  a  solitary 
movement  of  a  rebellious  muscle,  or  by  the  smallest 
sign  that  the  tender  nature  of  one  so  lovely,  and 
otherwise  so  gentle,  revolted  at  so  unequivocal  evi 
dence  of  the  barbarous  practices  of  her  adopted 
people.  But  no  Empress  of  Rome  could  have  wit 
nessed  the  dying  agonies  of  the  hapless  gladiator, 
no  consort  of  a  more  modern  prince  could  read  the 
bloody  list  of  the  victims  of  her  husband's  triumph, 
nor  any  betrothed  fair  listen  to  the  murderous  deeds 
of  him  her  imagination  had  painted  as  a  hero,  with 
less  indifference  to  human  suffering,  than  that  with 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  413 

which  the  wife  of  the  Sachem  of  the  Narragansetts 
looked  on  the  mimic  representation  of  those  exploits 
which  had  purchased  for  her  husband  a  renown  so 
highly  prized.  It  was  but  too  apparent  that  the 
representation,  rude  and  savage  as  it  was,  conveyed 
to  her  mind  nothing  but  pictures  in  which  the 
chosen  companion  of  a  warrior  should  rejoice.  The 
varying  features  and  answering  eye  too  plainly 
proclaimed  the  sympathy  of  one  taught  to  exult  in 
the  success  of  the  combatant ;  and  when  Whittal, 
excited  by  his  own  exertions,  broke  out  into  an  ex 
hibition  of  a  violence  more  ruthless  even  than  com 
mon,  he  was  openly  rewarded  by  another  laugh. 
The  soft,  exquisitely  feminine  tones  of  this  involun 
tary  burst  of  pleasure,  sounded  in  the  ears  of  Ruth 
like  a  knell  over  the  moral  beauty  of  her  child. 
Still  subduing  her  feelings,  she  passed  a  hand 
thoughtfully  over  her  own  pallid  brow,  and  appear 
ed  to  muse  Jong  on  the  desolation  of  a  mind  that 
had  once  promised  to  be  so  pure. 

The  colonists  had  not  yet  severed  all  those  natural 
ties  which  bound  them  to  the  eastern  hemisphere. 
Their  legends,  their  pride,  and  in  many  instances 
their  memories,  aided  in  keeping  alive  a  feeling  of 
amity,  and  it  might  be  added  of  faith,  in  favor  of 
the  land  of  their  ancestors.  With  some  of  their 
descendants,  even  to  the  present  hour,  the  beau 
ideal  of  excellence,  in  all  that  pertains  to  human 
qualities  and  human  happiness,  is  connected  with 
the  images  of  the  country  from  which  they  sprung. 
Distance  is  known  to  cast  a  softening  mist,  equally 
over  the  moral  and  physical  vision.  The  blue  out 
line  of  mountain  which  melts  into  its  glowing  back 
ground  of  sky,  is  not  more  pleasing  than  the  pictures 
which  fancy  sometimes  draws  of  less  material  things; 
but,  as  he  draws  near,  the  disappointed  traveller 
too  often  finds  nakedness  and  deformity,  where  he 
so  fondly  imagined  beauty  only  was  to  be  seen.  No 
35* 


414  THE    WEPT 

wonder  then  that  the  dwellers  of  the  simple  prov 
inces  of  New-England  blended  recollections  of  the 
country  they  still  called  home,  with  most  of  their 
poetical  pictures  of  life.  They  retained  the  lan 
guage,  the  books,  and  most  of  the  habits,  of  the 
English.  But  different  circumstances,  divided  inter 
ests,  and  peculiar  opinions,  were  gradually  begin 
ning  to  open  those  breaches  which  time  has  since 
widened,  and  which  promises  soon  to  leave  little  in 
common  between  the  two  people,  except  the  same 
forms  of  speech  and  a  common  origin :  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  some  charity  may  be  blended  with  these 
ties. 

The  singularly  restrained  habits  of  the  religion 
ists,  throughout  the  whole  of  the  Biitish  provinces, 
were  in  marked  opposition  to  the  mere  embellish 
ments  of  life.  The  arts  were  permitted  only  as  they 
served  its  most  useful  and  obvious  purposes.  With 
them,  music  was  confined  to  the  worship  of  God, 
and,  for  a  long  time  after  the  original  settlement, 
the  song  was  never  known  to  lead  the  mind  astray 
from  what  was  conceived  to  be  the  one  great  object 
of  existence.  No  verse  was  sung,  but  such  as  blend 
ed  holy  ideas  with  the  pleasures  of  harmony ;  noi 
were  the  sounds  of  revelry  ever  heard  within  their 
borders.  Still,  words  adapted  to  their  particular 
condition  had  come  into  use,  and  though  poetry  was 
neither  a  common  nor  a  brilliant  property  of  the 
mind,  among  a  people  thus  disciplined  in  ascetic 
practices,  it  early  exhibited  its  power  in  quaint 
versification,  that  was  always  intended,  though  with 
a  success  it  is  almost  pardonable  to  doubt,  to  re 
dound  to  the  glory  of  the  Deity.  It  was  but  a  natu 
ral  enlargement  of  this  pious  practice,  to  adapt 
some  of  these  spiritual  songs  to  the  purposes  of  the 
nursery. 

When  Ruth  Heathcote  passed  her  hand  thought 
fully  across  her  brow,  it  was  with  a  painful  convic- 


OF    WISH-TON-W1SEI.  415 

tion  that  her  dominion  over  the  mind  of  her  child 
was  sadly  weakened,  if  not  lost  for  ever.  But  the 
efforts  of  maternal  love  are  not  easily  repulsed. 
An  idea  flashed  upon  her  brain,  and  she  proceeded 
to  try  the  efficacy  of  the  experiment  it  suggested 
Nature  had  endowed  her  with  a  melodious  voice, 
and  an  ear  that  taught  her  to  regulate  sounds  in  a 
manner  that  seldom  failed  to  touch  the  heart.  She 
possessed  the  genius  of  music,  which  is  melody, 
unweakened  by  those  exaggerated  affectations  with 
which  it  is  often  encumbered  by  what  is  pretendingly 
called  science.  Drawing  her  daughter  nearer  to  her 
knee,  she  commenced  one  of  the  songs  then  much 
used  by  the  mothers  of  the  Colony,  her  voice  scarcely 
rising  above  the  whispering  of  the  evening  ^ir,  in 
its  first  notes,  but  gradually  gaining,  as  sue  pro 
ceeded,  the  richness  and  compass  that  a  strain  so 
simple  required. 

At  the  first  low  breathing  notes  of  this  nursery 
song,  Narra-mattah  became  as  motionless  as  if  her 
rounded  and  unfettered  form  had  been  wrought  in 
marble.  Pleasure  lighted  her  eyes,  as  strain  suc 
ceeded  strain;  and  ere  the  second  verse  was  ended, 
her  look,  her  attitude,  and  every  muscle  of  her 
ingenuous  features,  were  eloquent  in  the  expression 
of  delight.  Ruth  did  not  hazard  the  experiment 
without  trembling  for  its  result.  Emotion  imparted 
feeling  to  the  music,  and  when,  for  the  third  time 
in  the  course  of  her  song,  she  addressed  her  child, 
the  saw  the  soft  blue  eyes  that  gazed  wistfully  on 
her  face  swimming  in  tears.  Encouraged  by  this 
unequivocal  evidence  of  success,  nature  grew  still 
more  powerful  in  its  efforts,  and  the  closing  verse 
was  sung  to  an  ear  that  nestled  near  her  heart,  as 
it  had  often  done  during  the  early  years  of  Narra- 
mattah  while  listening  to  its  melancholy  melody. 

Content  was  a  quiet  but  an  anxious  witness  of 
this  touching  evidence  of  a  reviving  intelligence 


416  THE    WEPT 

between  his  wife  and  child.  He  best  understood 
the  look  that  beamed  in  the  eyes  of  the  former, 
while  her  arms  were,  with  extreme  caution,  folded 
around  her  who  still  leaned  upon  her  bosom,  as  if 
fearful  one  so  timid  might  be  frightened  from  her 
security  by  any  sudden  or  unaccustomed  interrup 
tion.  A  minute  passed  in  the  deepest  silence.  Even 
Whittal  Ring  was  lulled  into  quiet,  and  long  and 
sorrowing  years  had  passed  since  Ruth  enjoyed 
moments  of  happiness  so  pure  and  unalloyed.  The 
stillness  was  broken  by  a  heavy  step  in  the  outer 
room;  a  door  was  thrown  open  by  a  hand  more 
violent  than  common,  and  then  young  Mark  ap 
peared,  his  face  flushed  with  exertion,  his  brow 
seemingly  retaining  the  frown  of  battle,  and  with 
a  tread  that  betrayed  a  spirit  goaded  by  some  fierce 
and  unwelcome  passion.  The  burthen  of  Conanchet 
was  on  his  arm.  He  laid  it  upon  a  table;  then 
pointing,  in  a  manner  that  appeared  to  challenge 
attention,  he  turned,  and  left  the  room  as  abruptly 
as  he  had  entered. 

A  cry  of  joy  burst  from  the  lips  of  Narra-mattah, 
the  instant  the  beaded  belts  caught  her  eye.  The 
arms  of  Ruth  relaxed  their  hold  in  surprise,  and 
before  amazement  had  time  to  give  place  to  more 
connected  ideas,  the  wild  being  at  her  knee  had 
flown  to  the  table,  returned,  resumed  her  former 
posture,  opened  the  folds  of  the  cloth,  and  was 
holding  before  the  bewildered  gaze  of  her  mother 
the  patient  features  of  an  Indian  babe. 

It  would  exceed  the  powers  of  the  unambitious 
pen  we  wield,  to  convey  to  the  reader  a  just  idea 
of  the  mixed  emotions  that  struggled  for  mastery 
in  the  countenance  of  Ruth.  The  innate  and  never- 
dying  sentiment  of  maternal  joy  was  opposed  by  all 
those  feelings  of  pride,  that  prejudice  could  not  fail 
to  implant  even  in  the  bosom  of  one  so  meek.  There 
was  no  need  to  tell  the  history  of  the  parentage  of 


OF    WISH-TON- WISH.  417 

the  little  suppliant,  who  already  looked  up  into 
her  face,  with  that  peculiar  calm  which  renders 
his  race  so  remarkable.  Though  its  glance  was 
weakened  by  infancy,  the  dark  glittering  eye  of 
Conanchet  was  there";  there  were  also  to  be  seen 
the  receding  forehead  and  the  compressed  lip  of 
the  father ;  but  all  these  marks  of  his  origin  were 
softened  by  touches  of  that  beauty  which  had 
rendered  the  infancy  of  her  own  child  so  remark 
able. 

"  See !"  said  Narra-mattah,  raising  the  infant  still 
nearer  to  the  riveted  gaze  of  Ruth ;  "  'tis  a  Sachem 
of  the  red  men !  The  little  eagle  hath  left  his  nest 
too  soon." 

Ruth  could  not  resist  the  appeal  of  her  beloved. 
Bending  her  head  low,  so  as  entirely  to  conceal  her 
own  flushed  face,  she  imprinted  a  kiss  on  the  fore 
head  of  the  Indian  boy.  But  the  jealous  eye  of  the 
young  mother  was  not  to  be  deceived.  Narra-mattah 
detected  the  difference  between  the  cold  salute  and 
those  fervent  embraces  she  had  herself  received, 
and  disappointment  produced  a  chill  about  her  own 
heart.  Replacing  the  folds  of  the  cloth  with  quiet 
dignity,  she  arose  from  her  knees,  and  withdrew  in 
sadness  to  a  distant  corner  of  the  room.  There  she 
took  a  seat,  and  with  a  glance  that  might  almost  be 
termed  reproachful,  she  commenced  a  low  Indiar 
song  to  her  infant. 

"  The  wisdom  of  Providence  is  in  this,  as  in  all 
its  dispensations;"  whispered  Content  over  the  shoul 
der  of  his  nearly  insensible  partner.  "  Had  we  re 
ceived  her  as  she  was  lost,  the  favor  might  have 
exceeded  our  deservings.  Our  daughter  is  grieved 
that  thou  turnest  a  cold  eye  on  her  babe." 

The  appeal  was  sufficient  for  one  whose  affections 
had  been  wounded  rather  than  chilled.  It  recalled 
Ruth  to  recollection,  and  it  served  at  once  to  dis 
sipate  the  shades  of  regret  that  had  been  uncon- 


418  THE    WEPT 

sciously  permitted  to  gather  around  her  brow.  The 
displeasure,  or  it  would  be  more  true  to  term  it 
sorrow,  of  the  young  mother  was  easily  appeased 
A  smile  on  her  infant  brought  the  blood  back  to 
her  heart  in  a  swift  and  tumultuous  current ;  and 
Ruth,  herself,  soon  forgot  that  she  had  any  reason 
for  regret,  in  the  innocent  delight  with  which  her 
own  daughter  now  hastened  to  display  the  physical 
excellence  of  the  boy.  From  this  scene  of  natural 
feeling,  Content  was  too  quickly  summoned  by  the 
intelligence  that  some  one  without  awaited  his 
presence,  on  business  of  the  last  importance  to  the 
welfare  of  the  settlement. 


CHAPTER  XXYIII. 


"It  will  have  blood  ;  they  say,  blood 
Will  have  blood !" 

MACBETH. 


THE  visiters  were  Dr.  Ergot,  the  Reverend  Meek 
Wolfe,  Ensign  Dudley,  and  Reuben  Ring.  Content 
found  these  four  individuals  seated  in  an  outer  room, 
in  a  grave  and  restrained  manner,  that  would  have 
done  no  discredit  to  the  self-command  of  an  Indian 
council.  He  was  saluted  with  those  staid  and  com 
posed  greetings  which  are  still  much  used  in  the 
intercourse  of  the  people  of  the  Eastern  States  of 
this  Republic,  and  which  have  obtained  for  them  a 
reputation,  where  they  are  little  known,  of  a  want 
of  the  more  active  charities  of  our  nature.  But  that 
was  peculiarly  the  age  of  sublimated  doctrines,  of 
self-mortification,  and  of  severe  moral  government, 
and  most  men  believed  it  a  merit  to  exhibit,  on  all 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  419 

occasions,  the  dominion  of  the  mind  over  the  mere 
animal  impulses.  The  usage,  which  took  its  rise  in 
exalted  ideas  of  spiritual  perfection,  has  since  grown 
into  a  habit,  which,  though  weakened  by  the  in 
fluence  of  the  age,  still  exists  to  a  degree  that  often 
leads  to  an  erroneous  estimate  of  character. 

At  the  entrance  of  the  master  of  the  house,  there 
was  some  such  decorous  silence  as  that  which  is 
known  to  precede  the  communications  of  the  abori 
gines.  At  length  Ensign  Dudley,  in  whom  matter, 
most  probably  in  consequence  of  its  bulk,  bore 
more  than  an  usual  proportion  to  his  less  material 
part,  manifested  some  evidences  of  impatience  that 
the  divine  should  proceed  to  business.  Thus  ad 
monished,  or  possibly  conceiving  that  a  sufficient 
concession  had  been  made  to  the  dignity  of  man's 
nature,  Meek  opened  his  mouth  to  speak. 

"  Captain  Content  .Heathcote,"  he  commenced, 
with  that  mystical  involution  of  his  subject  which 
practice  had  rendered  nearly  inseparable  from  all 
his  communications ;  "  Captain  Content  Heathcote, 
this  hath  been  a  day  of  awful  visitations,  and  of 
gracious  temporal  gifts.  The  heathen  hath  been 
smitten  severely  by  the  hand  of  the  believer,  and 
the  believer  hath  been  made  to  pay  the  penalty  of 
his  want  of  faith,  by  the  infliction  of  a  savage  agen 
cy.  Azazel  hath  been  loosened  in  our  village,  the 
legions  of  wickedness  have  been  suffered  to  go  at 
large  in  our  fields,  and  yet  the  Lord  hath  remem 
bered  his  people,  and  hath  borne  them  through  a 
trial  of  blood  as  perilous  as  was  the  passage  of  his 
chosen  nation  through  the  billows  of  the  Red  Sea. 
There  is  cause  of  mourning,  and  cause  of  joy,  in 
this  manifestation  of  his  will;  of  sorrow  that  we 
have  merited  his  anger,  and  of  rejoicing  that  enough 
of  redeeming  grace  hath  been  found  to  save  the 
Gomorrah  of  our  hearts.  But  I  speak  to  one  trained 
in  spiritual  discipline,  and  schooled  in  the  vicissitudes 


420  THE    WEPT 

of  the  world,  and  further  discourse  is  not  necessary 
to  quicken  his  apprehension.  We  will  therefore 
turn  to  more  instant  and  temporal  exercises.  Have 
all  of  thy  household  escaped  unharmed  throughout 
the  strivings  of  this  bloody  day?" 

"  We  praise  the  Lord  that  such  hath  been  his 
pleasure,"  returned  Content.  "  Other  than  as  sor 
row  hath  assailed  us  through  the  mourning  of  friends, 
the  blow  hath  fallen  lightly  on  me  and  mine." 

"Thou  hast  had  thy  season;  the  parent  ceaseth 
to  chastise,  while  former  punishments  are  remem 
bered.  But  here  is  Sergeant  Ring,  with  matter  to 
communicate,  that  may  still  leave  business  for  thy 
courage  and  thy  wisdom." 

Content  turned  his  quiet  look  upon  the  yeoman, 
and  seemed  to  await  his  speech.  Reuben  Ring, 
who  was  a  man  of  many  solid  and  valuable  quali 
ties,  would  most  probably  have  been  exercising  the 
military  functions  of  his  brother-in-law,  at  that 
very  moment,  had  he  been  equally  gifted  with  a 
fluent  discourse.  But  his  feats  lay  rather  in  doing 
than  in  speaking,  and  the  tide  of  popularity  had  in 
consequence  set  less  strongly  in  his  favor  than  might 
have  happened  had  the  reverse  been  the  case.  The 
present,  however,  was  a  moment  when  it  was  ne 
cessary  to  overcome  his  natural  reluctance  to  speak, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  he  replied  to  the  inquir 
ing  glance  of  his  commander's  eye. 

"The  Captain  knows  the  manner  in  which  we 
scourged  the  savages  at  the  southern  end  of  the 
valley,"  the  sturdy  yeoman  began,  "  and  it  is  not 
necessary  to  deal  with  the  particulars  at  length. 
There  were  six-and-twenty  red-skins  slain  in  the 
meadows,  besides  as  many  more  that  left  the  ground 
in  the  arms  of  their  friends.  As  for  the  people,  we 
got  a  few  hurts,  but  each  man  came  back  on  his 
own  limbs." 

"  This  is  much  as  the  matter  hath  been  reported." 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  421 

"  Then  there  was  a  party  sent  to  brush  the  woods 
on  the  trail  of  the  Indians,"  resumed  Reuben,  with 
out  appearing  to  regard  the  interruption.  "The 
scouts  broke  off  in  pairs  in  the  duty,  and  finally 
men  got  to  searching  singly,  of  which  number  I 
was  one.  The  two  men  of  whom  there  is  ques 
tion " 

"  Of  what  men  dost  speak  ?"  demanded  Content. 

*  The  two  men  of  whom  there  is  question,"  re 
turned  the  other,  continuing  the  direct  course  of  his 
own  manner  of  relating  events,  without  appearin 
to  see  the  necessity  of  connecting  the  threads  o 
his  communication ;  "  the  men  of  whom  I  have  spo 
ken  to  the  Minister  and  the  Ensign " 

"  Proceed,"  said  Content,  who  understood  his  man. 

"  After  one  of  these  men  was  brought  to  his  end, 
1  saw  no  reason  for  making  the  day  bloodier  than 
it  already  was,  the  more  especially  as  the  Lord  had 
caused  it  to  begin  with  a  merciful  hand  which  shed 
its  bounties  on  my  own  dwelling.  Under  such  an 
opinion  of  right-doing,  the  other  was  bound  and  led 
into  the  clearings." 

"  Thou  hast  made  a  captive?" 

The  lips  of  Reuben  scarce  severed  as  he  mutter 
ed  a  low  assent ;  but  the  Ensign  Dudley  took  upon 
himself  the  duty  of  entering  into  further  explana 
tions,  which  the  point  where  his  kinsman  left  the 
narrative  enabled  him  to  do  with  sufficient  intelli 
gence. 

"  As  the  Sergeant  hath  related,"  he  said,  "  one 
of  the  heathen  fell,  and  the  other  is  now  without, 
awaiting  a  judgment  in  the  matter  of  his  fortune." 

"  I  trust  there  is  no  wish  to  harm  him,"  said  Con 
tent,  glancing  an  eye  uneasily  around  at  his  com 
panions.  "  Strife  hath  done  enough  in  our  settle 
ment  this  day.  The  Sergeant  hath  a  right  to  claim 
the  scalp-bounty,  for  the  man  that  is  slain ;  but  for 
him  that  liveth,  let  there  be  mercy !" 
36 


THE    WEPT 


"  Mercy  is  a  quality  of  heavenly  origin,"  replied 
Meek  Wolfe,  "  and  it  should  not  be  perverted  to 
defeat  the  purposes  of  heavenly  wisdom.  Azazel 
must  not  triumph,  though  the  tribe  of  the  Narra- 
gansetts  should  be  swept  with  the  besom  of  destruc 
tion.  Truly,  we  are  an  erring  and  a  fallible  race, 
Captain  Heathcote  ;  and  the  greater,  therefore,  the 
necessity  that  we  submit,  without  rebellion,  to  the 
inward  monitors  that  are  implanted,  by  grace,  to 
teach  us  the  road  of  our  duty  -  " 

"  I  cannot  consent  to  shed  blood,  now  that  the 
strife  hath  ceased,"  hastily  interrupted  Content. 
"  Praised  be  Providence  !  we  are  victors  ;  and  it  is 
time  to  lean  to  councils  of  charity." 

"  Such  are  the  deceptions  of  a  short-sighted  wis 
dom!"  returned  the  divine,  his  dim,  sunken  eye 
shining  with  the  promptings  of  an  exaggerated  and 
subtle  spirit.  "  The  end  of  all  is  good,  and  we  may 
not,  without  mortal  danger,  presume  to  doubt  the 
suggestions  of  heavenly  gifts.  But  there  is  not  ques 
tion  here  concerning  the  execution  of  the  captive, 
since  he  proffereth  to  be  of  service  in  far  greater 
things  than  any  that  can  depend  on  his  life  or  death. 
The  heathen  rendered  up  his  liberty  with  little 
struggle,  and  hath  propositions  that  may  lead  us  to 

profitable  conclusion  of  this  day's  trials." 

"  If  he  can  aid  in  aught  that  shall  shorten  the 
perils  and  wantonness  of  this  ruthless  war,  he  shall 
find  none  better  disposed  to  listen  than  I." 

"  He  professeth  ability  to  do  that  service." 

"  Then,  of  Heaven's  mercy  !  let  him  be  brought 
forth,  that  we  counsel  on  his  proposals." 

Meek  made  a  gesture  to  Sergeant  Ring,  who  quit 
ted  the  apartment  for  a  moment,  and  shortly  after 
returned  followed  by  his  captive.  The  Indian  was 
one  of  those  dark  and  malignant-looking  savages 
that  possess  most  of  the  sinister  properties  of  their 
condition,  with  few  or  none  of  the  redeeming  quali- 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  423 

ties.  His  eye  was  lowering  and  distrustful,  bespeak 
ing  equally  apprehension  and  revenge ;  his  form  of 
that  middling  degree  of  perfection  which  leaves  as 
little  to  admire  as  to  condemn,  and  his  attire  such 
is  denoted  him  one  who  might  be  ranked  among 
the  warriors  of  a  secondary  class.  Still,  in  the  com 
posure  of  his  mien,  the  tranquillity  of  his  step,  and 
the  self-possession  of  all  his  movements,  he  displayed 
that  high  bearing,  his  people  rarely  fail  to  exhibit, 
ere  too  much  intercourse  with  the  whites  begins  to 
destroy  their  distinctive  traits. 

"  Here  is  the  Narragansett,"  said  Reuben  Ring, 
causing  his  prisoner  to  appear  in  the  centre  of  the 
room ;  "  he  is  no  chief,  as  may  be  gathered  from  hie 
uncertain  look." 

'  "  If  he  effect  that  of  which  there  hath  been  ques 
tion,  his  rank  mattereth  little.  We  seek  to  stop  the 
currents  of  blood  that  flow  like  running  water,  in 
these  devoted  Colonies." 

"  This  will  he  do,"  rejoined  the  divine,  "  or  we 
shall  hold  him  answerable  for  breach  of  promise." 

"  And  in  what  doth  he  profess  to  aid  in  stopping 
the  work  of  death  ?" 

"By  yielding  the  fierce  Philip,  and  his  savage 
ally,  the  roving  Conanchet,  to  the  judgment.  Those 
chiefs  destroyed,  our  temple  may  be  entered  in 
peace,  and  the  voice  of  thanksgiving  shall  again 
rise  in  our  Bethel,  without  the  profane  interruption 
of  savage  shrieks." 

Content  started,  and  even  recoiled  a  step,  as  he 
listened  to  the  nature  of  the  proposed  peace-offer 
ing. 

"And  have  we  warranty  for  such  a  proceeding, 
should  this  man  prove  true  ?"  he  asked,  in  a  voice 
that  sufficiently  denoted  his  own  doubts  of  the  pro 
priety  of  such  a  measure. 

"  There  is  the  law,  the  necessities  of  a  suffering 


424  THE    WEPT 

nature,  and  God's  glory,  for  our  justification,"  drily 
returned  the  divine. 

"  This  outsteppeth  the  discreet  exercise  of  a  dele 
gated  authority.  I  like  not  to  assume  so  great  power, 
without  written  mandates  for  its  execution." 

"  The  objection  hath  raised  a  little  difficulty  in 
my  own  mind,"  observed  Ensign  Dudley ;  "  and  as 
it  hath  set  thoughts  at  work,  it  is  possible  that  what 
I  have  to  offer  will  meet  the  Captain's  good  appro 
bation." 

Content  knew  that  his  ancient  servitor  was, 
though  often  uncouth  in  its  exhibition,  at  the  bot 
tom  a  man  of  humane  heart.  On  the  other  hand, 
while  he  scarce  admitted  the  truth  to  himself,  he 
had  a  secret  dread  of  the  exaggerated  sentiments 
of  his  spiritual  guide ;  and  he  consequently  listened 
to  the  interruption  of  Eben,  with  a  gratification  he 
scarcely  wished  to  conceal. 

"Speak  openly,"  he  said;  "when  men  counsel  in 
a  matter  of  this  weight,  each  standeth  on  the  surety 
of  his  proper  gifts." 

"  Then  may  this  business  be  dispatched  without 
the  embarrassment  the  Captain  seems  to  dread.  We 
have  an  Indian,  who  offers  to  lead  a  party  through 
the  forests  to  the  haunts  of  the  bloody  chiefs,  therein 
bringing  affairs  to  the  issue  of  manhood  and  discre 
tion." 

"  And  wherein  do  you  propose  any  departure 
from  the  suggestions  that  have  already  been  made?" 

Ensign  Dudley  had  not  risen  to  his  present  rank, 
without  acquiring  a  suitable  portion  of  the  reserve 
which  is  so  often  found  to  dignify  official  sentiments. 
Having  ventured  the  opinion  already  placed,  how 
ever  vaguely,  before  his  hearers,  he  was  patiently 
awaiting  its  effects  on  the  mind  of  his  superior,  when 
the  latter,  by  his  earnest  and  unsuspecting  counte 
nance,  no  less  than  by  the  question  just  given,  show 


OF   WI8H-TON-WISH.  425 

ed  that  he  was  still  in  the  dark  as  to  the  expedient 
the  subaltern  wished  to  suggest. 

"  I  think  there  will  be  no  necessity  for  making 
more  captives,"  resumed  Eben,  "  since  the  one  we 
have  appears  to  create  difficulties  in  our  councils. 
If  there  be  any  law  in  the  Colony,  which  says  that 
men  must  strike  with  a  gentle  hand  in  open  battle, 
it  is  a  law  but  little  spoken  of  in  common  discourse ; 
and  though  no  pretender  to  the  wisdom  of  legisla 
tors,  I  will  make  bold  to  add,  it  is  a  law  that  may  as 
well  be  forgotten  until  this  outbreaking  of  the  sav 
ages  shall  be  quelled." 

"  We  deal  with  an  enemy  that  never  stays  his 
hand  at  the  cry  of  mercy,"  observed  Meek  Wolfe, 
"  and  though  charity  be  the  fruit  of  Christian  quali 
ties,  there  is  a  duty  greater  than  any  which  belong- 
eth  to  earth.  We  are  no  more  than  weak  and  feeble 
instruments  in  the  hands  of  Providence,  and  as  such 
our  minds  should  not  be  hardened  to  our  inward 
promptings.  If  evidence  of  better  feeling  could  be 
found  in  the  deeds  of  the  heathen,  we  might  raise 
our  hopes  to  the  completion  of  things;  but  the  Pow 
ers  of  Darkness  still  rage  in  their  hearts,  and  we 
are  taught  to  believe  that  the  tree  is  known  by  its 
fruits."  ' 

Content  signed  to  all  to  await  his  return,  and  left 
the  room.  In  another  minute,  he  was  seen  leading 
his  daughter  into  the  centre  of  the  circle.  The  half- 
alarmed  young  woman  clasped  her  swaddled  boy  to 
her  bosom,  as  she  gazed  timidly  at  the  grave  faces 
of  the  borderers ;  and  her  eye  recoiled  in  fear,  when 
its  hurried  glance  met  the  sunken,  glazed,  excited, 
and  yet  equivocal-looking  organ  of  the  Reverend 
Mr.  Wolfe. 

"  Thou  hast  said  that  the  savage  never  hearkens 
to  the  cry  of  mercy,"  resumed  Content;  "here  is 
living  evidence  that  thou  hast  spoken  in  error.  The 
misfortune  that  early  befell  my  family,  is  not  un 
36* 


426  THE    WEPT 

known  to  any  in  this  settlement ;  thou  seest  in  this 
trembling  creature  the  daughter  of  our  love — her 
we  have  so  long  mourned.  The  wept  of  my  house 
hold  is  again  with  us;  our  hearts  have  been  oppress 
ed,  they  are  now  gladdened.  God  hath  returned  our 
child !» 

There  was  a  deep,  rich  pathos  in  the  tones  of 
the  father,  that  affected  most  of  his  auditors,  though 
each  manifested  his  sensibilities  in  a  manner  suited 
to  his  particular  habits  of  mind.  The  nature  of  the 
divine  was  touched,  and  all  the  energies  of  his  se 
vere  principles  were  wanting  to  sustain  him  above 
the  manifestation  of  a  weakness  that  he  might  have 
believed  derogatory  to  his  spiritual  exaltation  of 
character.  He  therefore  sat  mute,  with  hands  folded 
on  his  knee,  betraying  the  struggles  of  an  awaken 
ed  sympathy  only  by  a  firmer  compression  of  the 
interlocked  fingers,  and  an  occasional  and  involun 
tary  movement  of  the  stronger  muscles  of  the  face. 
Dudley  suffered  a  smile  of  pleasure  to  lighten  his 
broad,  open  countenance ;  and  the  physician,  who 
had  hitherto  been  merely  a  listener,  uttered  a  few 
low  syllables  of  admiration  of  the  physical  perfec 
tion  of  the  being  before  him,  with  which  there  was 
mingled  some  evidence  of  natural  good  feeling. 

Reuben  Ring  was  the  only  individual  who  openly 
betrayed  the  whole  degree  of  the  interest  he  took 
in  the  restoration  of  the  lost  female.  The  stout 
yeoman  arose,  and,  moving  to  the  entranced  Narra- 
mattah,  he  took  the  infant  into  his  large  hands,  and 
for  a  moment  the  honest  borderer  gazed  at  the  boy 
with  a  wistful  and  softened  eye.  Then  raising  the 
diminutive  face  of  the  infant  to  his  own  expanded 
and  bold  features,  he  touched  its  cheek  with  his 
lips,  and  returned  the  babe  to  its  mother,  who  wit 
nessed  the  whole  proceeding  in  some  such  tribula 
tion  as  the  startled  wren  exhibits  when  the  foot  of 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  427 

the  urchin  is  seen  to  draw  too  near  the  nest  of  its 
young. 

"  Thou  seest  that  the  hand  of  the  Narragansett 
hath  been  stayed,"  said  Content,  when  a  deep  silence 
had  succeeded  this  little  movement,  and  speaking  in 
a  tone  which  betrayed  hopes  of  victory. 

"  The  ways  of  Providence  are  mysterious !"  re 
turned  Meek ;  "  wherein  they  bring  comfort  to  the 
heart,  it  is  right  that  we  exhibit  gratitude ;  and 
wherein  they  are  charged  with  present  affliction,  it 
is  meet  to  bow  with  humbled  spirits  to  their  order- 
ings.  But  the  visitations  on  families  are  merely — " 

He  paused,  for  at  that  moment  a  door  opened, 
and  a  party  entered  bearing  a  burthen,  which  they 
deposited,  with  decent  and  grave  respect,  on  the 
floor,  in  the  very  centre  of  the  room.  The  uncere 
monious  manner  of  the  entrance,  the  assured  and 
the  common  gravity  of  their  air,  proclaimed  that 
the  villagers  felt  their  errand  to  be  a  sufficient 
apology  for  this  intrusion.  Had  not  the  business  of 
the  past  day  naturally  led  to  such  a  belief,  the  man 
ner  and  aspects  of  those  who  had  borne  the  burthen 
would  have  announced  it  to  be  a  human  body. 

"  I  had  believed  that  none  fell  in  this  day's  strife, 
but  those  who  met  their  end  near  my  own  door," 
said  Content,  after  a  Jong,  respectful,  and  sorrowing 
pause.  "  Remove  the  face-cloth,  that  we  may  know 
on  whom  the  blow  hath  fallen." 

One  of  the  young  men  obeyed.  It  was  not  easy 
to  recognise,  through  the  mutilations  of  savage  bar 
barity,  the  features  of  the  sufferer.  But  a  second 
and  steadier  look  showed  the  gory  and  still  agonized 
countenance  of  the  individual  who  had,  that  morn 
ing,  left  the  Wish-Ton-Wish  on  the  message  of  the 
colonial  authorities.  Even  men  as  practised  as  those 
present,  in  the  horrible  inventions  of  Indian  cruelty, 
turned  sickening  away  from  a  spectacle  that  war 
calcuJ  ted  to  chill  the  blood  of  all  who  had  not  be- 


428  THE    WEPT 

come  callous  to  human  affliction.  Content  made  a 
sign  to  cover  the  miserable  remnants  of  mortality, 
and  hid  his  face,  with  a  shudder. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  on  the  scene  that  fol 
lowed.  Meek  Wolfe  availed  himself  of  this  unex 
pected  event,  to  press  his  plan  on  the  attention  of 
the  commanding  officer  of  the  settlement,  who  was 
certainly  far  better  disposed  to  listen  to  his  propo 
sals,  than  before  this  palpable  evidence  of  the  ruth 
less  character  of  their  enemies  was  presented  to 
his  view.  Still  Content  listened  with  reluctance, 
nor  was  it  without  the  intention  of  exercising  an 
ulterior  discretion  in  the  case,  that  he  finally  con 
sented  to  give  orders  for  the  departure  of  a  body  of 
men,  with  the  approach  of  the  morning  light.  As 
much  of  the  discourse  was  managed  with  those 
half-intelligible  allusions  that  distinguished  men  of 
their  habits,  it  is  probable  that  every  individual 
present  had  his  own  particular  views  of  the  subject ; 
though  it  is  certain,  one  and  all  faithfully  believed 
that  he  was  solely  influenced  by  a  justifiable  regard 
to  his  temporal  interest,  which  was  in  some  degree 
rendered  still  more  praiseworthy  by  a  reference  to 
the  service  of  his  Divine  Master. 

As  the  party  returned,  Dudley  lingered  a  moment, 
alone,  with  his  former  master.  The  face  of  the 
honest-meaning  Ensign  was  charged  with  more  than 
its  usual  significance ;  and  he  even  paused  a  little, 
after  all  were  beyond  hearing,  ere  he  could  muster 
resolution  to  propose  the  subject  that  was  so  evi 
dently  uppermost  in  his  mind. 

"  Captain  Content  Heathcote,"  he  at  length  com 
menced,  "  evil  or  good  comes  not  alone  in  this  life. 
Thou  hast  found  her  that  we  sought  with  so  much 
pain  and  danger,  but  thou  hast  found  with  her  more 
than  a  Christian  gentleman  can  desire.  I  am  a  man 
of  humble  station,  but  I  may  make  bold  to  know 
what  should  be  the  feelings  of  a  father,  whose  child 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  429 

is  restored,  replenished  by  such  an  over-bountiful 
gift." 

"  Speak  plainer,"  said  Content,  firmly. 

"  Then  I  would  say,  that  it  may  not  be  grateful 
to  one  who  taketh  his  place  among  the  best  in  this 
Colony,  to  have  an  offspring  with  an  Indian  cross  of 
blood,  and  over  whose  birth  no  rite  of  Christian 
marriage  hath  been  said.  Here  is  Abundance,  a 
woman  of  exceeding  usefulness  in  a  newly-settled 
region,  hath  made  Reuben  a  gift  of  three  noble 
boys  this  very  morning.  The  accession  is  little 
known,  and  less  discoursed  of,  in  that  the  good  wife 
is  accustomed  to  such  liberality,  and  that  the  day 
hath  brought  forth  still  greater  events.  Now  a  child, 
more  or  less,  to  such  a  woman,  can  neither  raise 
question  among  the  neighbors,  nor  make  any  extra 
ordinary  difference  to  the  household.  My  brother 
Ring  would  be  happy  to  add  the  boy  to  his  stock ; 
and  should  there  be  any  remarks  concerning  the  color 
of  the  younker,  at  a  future  day,  it  should  give  no 
reason  of  surprise,  had  the  whole  four  been  born,  on 
the  day  of  such  an  inroad,  red  as  Metacom  himself!" 

Content  heard  his  companion  to  the  end,  without 
interruption.  His  countenance,  for  a  single  instant, 
as  the  meaning  of  the  Ensign  became  unequivocal, 
reddened  with  a  worldly  feeling  to  which  he  had 
long  been  a  stranger ;  but  the  painful  expression  as 
quickly  disappeared,  and  in  its  place  reigned  the 
meek  submission  to  Providence  that  habitually  char 
acterized  his  mien. 

"That  I  have  been  troubled  with  this  vain  thought, 
I  shall  not  deny,"  he  answered;  "but  the  Lord 
hath  given  me  strength  to  resist.  It  is  his  will  that 
one  sprung  of  heathen  lineage  shall  come  beneath 
my  roof,  and  let  his  will  be  done !  My  child,  and  all 
that  are  hers,  are  welcome." 

Ensign  Dudley  pressed  the  point  no  further,  and 
they  separated. 


430  THE   WEPT 


CHAPTEK 


**  Tarry  a  little ; — there  is  something  else." 

MERCHANT  OF  VENICE. 


WE  shift  the  scene.  The  reader  will  transport 
himself  from  the  valley  of  the  Wish-Ton-Wish,  to 
the  bosom  of  a  deep  and  dark  wood. 

It  may  be  thought  that  such  scenes  have  been 
too  often  described  to  need  any  repetition.  Still,  as 
it  is  possible  that  these  pages  may  fall  into  the  hands 
of  some  who  have  never  quitted  the  older  members 
of  the  Union,  we  shall  endeavor  to  give  them  a 
faint  impression  concerning  the  appearance  of  the 
place  to  which  it  has  become  our  duty  to  transfer 
the  action  of  the  tale. 

Although  it  is  certain  that  inanimate,  like  animate 
nature,  has  its  period,  the  existence  of  the  tree  has 
no  fixed  and  common  limit.  The  oak,  the  elm,  and 
the  linden,  the  quick-growing  sycamore  and  the  tall 
pine,  has  each  its  own  laws  for  the  government  of 
its  growth,  its  magnitude,  and  its  duration.  By  this 
provision  of  nature,  the  wilderness,  in  the  midst  of 
so  many  successive  changes,  is  always  maintained 
at  the  point  nearest  to  perfection,  since  the  acces 
sions  are  so  few  and  gradual  as  to  preserve  its 
character. 

The  American  forest  exhibits  in  the  highest 
degree  the  grandeur  of  repose.  As  nature  never 
does  violence  to  its  own  laws,  the  soil  throws  out 
the  plant  which  it  is  best  qualified  to  support,  and 
the  eye  is  not  often  disappointed  by  a  sickly  vegeta 
tion.  There  ever  seems  a  generous  emulation  in 
the  trees,  which  is  not  to  be  found  among  others  of 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH. 


431 


different  families,  when  left  to  pursue  their  quiet 
existence  in  the  solitude  of  the  fields.  Each  struggles 
towards  the  light,  and  an  equality  in  bulk  and  a 
similarity  in  form  are  thus  produced,  which  scarce 
belong  to  their  distinctive  characters.  The  effect 
may  be  easily  imagined.  The  vaulted  arches  be 
neath  are  filled  with  thousands  of  high,  unbroken 
columns,  which  sustain  one  vast  and  trembling 
canopy  of  leaves.  A  pleasing  gloom  and  an  im 
posing  silence  have  their  interminable  reign  below, 
while  an  outer  and  another  atmosphere  seems  to 
rest  on  the  cloud  of  foliage. 

While  the  light  plays  on  the  varying  surface 
of  the  tree-tops,  one  sombre  and  little-varied  hue 
colors  the  earth.  Dead  and  moss-covered  logs; 
mounds  covered  with  decomposed  vegetable  sub 
stances,  the  graves  of  long-past  generations  of  trees ; 
cavities  left  by  the  fall  of  some  uprooted  trunk  ; 
dark  fungi,  that  flourish  around  the  decayed  roots 
of  those  about  to  lose  their  hold,  with  a  few  slender 
and  delicate  plants  of  a  minor  growth,  and  which 
best  succeed  in  the  shade,  form  the  accompani 
ments  of  the  lower  scene.  The  whole  is  tempered, 
and  in  summer  rendered  grateful,  by  a  freshness 
which  equals  that  of  the  subterranean  vault,  with 
out  possessing  any  of  its  chilling  dampness.  In  the 
midst  of  this  gloomy  solitude,  the  foot  of  man  is 
rarely  heard.  An  occasional  glimpse  of  the  bound 
ing  deer  or  trotting  moose,  is  almost  the  only  in 
terruption  on  the  earth  itself;  while  the  heavy 
bear  or  leaping  panther,  is,  at  long  intervals,  met 
seated  on  the  branches  of  some  venerable  tree. 
There  are  moments,  too,  when  troops  of  hungry 
wolves  are  found  hunting  on  the  trail  of  the  deer ; 
but  these  are  seen  rather  as  exceptions  to  the  still 
ness  of  the  place,  than  as  accessories  that  should 
properly  be  introduced  into  the  picture.  Even  the 
birds  are,  in  common,  mute,  or  when  they  do  break 


432  THE   WEPT 

the  silence,  it  is  in  a  discordance  that  suits  the 
character  of  their  wild  abode. 

Through  such  a  scene  two  men  were  industriously 
journeying,  on  the  day  which  succeeded  the  inroad 
last  described.  They  marched  as  wont,  one  after 
the  other,  the  younger  and  more  active  leading  the 
way  through  the  monotony  of  the  woods,  as  accu 
rately  and  as  unhesitatingly  as  the  mariner  directs 
his  course  by  the  aid  of  the  needle  over  the  waste 
of  waters.  He  in  front  was  light,  agile,  and  seem 
ingly  unwearied ;  while  the  one  who  followed  was 
a  man  of  heavy  mould,  whose  step  denoted  less 
practice  in  the  exercise  of  the  forest,  and  possibly 
some  failing  of  natural  vigor. 

"  Thine  eye,  Narragansett,  is  an  unerring  compass 
by  which  to  steer,  and  thy  leg  a  never-wearied 
steed ;"  said  the  latter,  casting  the  but  of  his  musket 
on  the  end  of  a  mouldering  log,  while  he  leaned  on 
the  barrel  for  support.  "  If  thou  movest  on  the  war 
path  with  the  same  diligence  as  thou  usest  in  our 
errand  of  peace,  well  may  the  Colonists  dread  thy 
enmity." 

The  other  turned,  and  without  seeking  aid  from 
the  gun  which  rested  against  his  shoulder,  he  pointed 
at  the  several  objects  he  named,  and  answered — 

"  My  father  is  this  aged  sycamore ;  it  leans  against 
the  young  oak — Conanchet  is  a  straight  pine.  There 
is  great  cunning  in  gray  hairs,"  added  the  chief 
stepping  lightly  forward  until  a  finger  rested  on 
the  arm  of  Submission ;  "  can  they  tell  the  time 
when  we  shall  lie  under  the  moss  like  a  dead  hem 
lock  ?" 

"That  exceedeth  the  wisdom  of  man.  It  is  enough, 
Sachem,  if  when  we  fall,  we  may  say  with  truth, 
that  the  land  we  shadowed  is  no  poorer  for  our 
growth.  Thy  bones  will  lie  in  the  earth  where  thy 
fathers  trod,  but  mine  may  whiten  in  the  vault  of 
some  gloomy  forest." 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  433 

The  quiet  of  the  Indian's  face,  was  disturbed. 
The  pupils  of  his  dark  eyes  contracted,  his  nostrils 
dilated,  and  his  full  chest  heaved ;  and  then  all  re 
posed,  like  the  sluggish  ocean,  after  a  vain  effort  to 
heave  its  waters  into  some  swelling  wave,  during  u 
general  calm. 

"Fire  hath  scorched  the  prints  of  my  father's 
moccasons  from  the  earth,"  he  said,  with  a  smile 
that  was  placid  though  bitter,  "and  my  eyes  can 
not  find  them.  I  shall  die  under  that  shelter,"  point 
ing  through  an  opening  in  the  foliage  to  the  blue 
void ;  "  the  falling  leaves  will  cover  my  bones." 

"  Then  hath  the  Lord  given  us  a  new  bond  of 
friendship.  There  is  a  yew-tree  and  a  quiet  church 
yard  in  a  country  afar,  where  generations  of  my 
race  sleep  in  their  graves.  The  place  is  white  with 
stones,  that  bear  the  name  of " 

Submission  suddenly  ceased  to  speak,  and  when 
his  eye  was  raised  to  that  of  his  companion,  it  was 
just  in  time  to  detect  the  manner  in  which  the 
curious  interest  of  the  latter  changed  suddenly  to 
cold  reserve,  and  to  note  the  high  courtesy  of  the 
air  with  which  the  Indian  turned  the  discourse. 

"  There  is  water  beyond  the  little  hill,"  he  said. 
"  Let  my  father  drink  and  grow  stronger,  that  he 
may  live  to  lie  in  the  clearings.'7 

The  other  bowed,  and  they  proceeded  to  the  spot 
in  silence.  It  would  seem,  by  the  length  of  time  that 
was  now  lost  in  taking  the  required  refreshment,  that 
the  travellers  had  journeyed  long  and  far.  The  Nar- 
ragansett  ate  more  sparingly,  however,  than  his  com 
panion,  for  his  mind  appeared  to  sustain  a  weight 
that  was  far  more  grievous  than  the  fatigue  which 
had  been  endured  by  the  body.  Still  his  composure 
was  little  disturbed  outwardly,  for  during  the  silent 
repast  he  maintained  the  air  of  a  dignified  warrior, 
rather  than  that  of  a  man  whose  air  could  be,  much 
affected  by  inward  sorrow  When  nature  was  ap- 
•j  1 


434  THE    WEPT 

peased,  they  both  arose,  and  continued  their  route 
through  the  pathless  forest. 

For  an  hour  after  quitting  the  spring,  the  progress 
of  our  two  adventurers  was  swift,  and  uninterrupt 
ed  by  any  passing  observation  or  momentary  pause. 
At  the  end  of  that  time,  however,  the  speed  of  Co- 
nanchet  began  to  slacken,  and  bis  eye,  instead  of 
maintaining  its  steady  and  forward  direction,  was 
seen  to  wander  with  some  of  the  appearance  of  in 
decision. 

"  Thou  hast  lost  those  secret  signs  by  which  we 
have  so  far  threaded  the  woods,"  observed  his  com 
panion  ;  "  one  tree  is  like  another,  and  I  see  no  dif 
ference  in  this  wilderness  of  nature ;  but  if  thou  art 
at  fault,  we  may  truly  despair  of  our  object." 

"  Here  is  the  nest  of  the  eagle,"  returned  Conan- 
chet,  pointing  at  the  object  he  warned  perched  on 
the  upper  and  whitened  branches  of  a  dead  pine ; 
"  and  my  father  may  see  the  council-tree  in  this  oak 
— but  there  are  no  Wampanoags !" 

"  There  are  many  eagles  in  this  forest,  nor  is  that 
oak  one  that  may  not  have  its  fellow.  Thine  eye 
hath  been  deceived,  Sachem,  and  some  false  sign 
hath  led  us  astray." 

Conanchet  looked  at  his  companion  attentively. 
After  a  moment,  he  quietly  asked — 

"Did  my  father  ever  mistake  his  path,  in  going 
from  his  wigwam  to  the  place  where  he  looked  upon 
the  house  of  his  Great  Spirit  ?" 

"The  matter  of  that  often-travelled  path  was 
different,  Narragansett.  My  foot  had  worn  the  rock 
with  many  passings,  and  the  distance  was  a  span. 
But  we  have  journeyed  through  leagues  of  forest. 
and  our  route  hath  lain  across  brook  and  hill,  through 
brake  and  morass,  where  human  vision  hath  not 
been  able  to  detect  the  smallest  sign  of  the  presence 
of  man." 

"My  father  is  old,"  said  the  Indian,  respectfully. 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  435 

"  His  eye  is  not  as  quick  as  when  he  took  the  scalp 
of  the  Great  Chief,  or  he  would  know  the  print  of  a 
moccason — see,"  making  his  companion  observe  the 
mark  of  a  human  foot  that  was  barely  discernible 
by  the  manner  in  which  the  dead  leaves  had  been 
displaced;  "his  rock  is  worn,  but  it  is  harder  than 
the  ground.  He  cannot  tell  by  its  signs  who  passed, 
or  when." 

"  Here  is  truly  that  which  ingenuity  may  por 
tray  as  the  print  of  man's  foot;  but  it  is  alone,  and 
may  be  some  accident  of  the  wind."  , 

"  Let  my  father  look  on  every  side ;  he  will  see 
that  a  tribe  hath  passed." 

"  This  may  be  true,  though  my  vision  is  unequal 
to  detect  that  thou  wouldst  show.  But  if  a  tribe 
h?th  passed,  let  us  follow." 

Conanchet  shook  his  head,  arid  spread  the  fingers 
of  his  two  hands  in  a  manner  to  describe  the  radii 
of  a  circle. 

"  Hugh !"  he  said,  starting  even  while  he  was 
thus  significantly  answering  by  gestures,  "  a  mocca 
son  comes !" 

Submission,  who  had  so  often  and  so  recently 
been  arrayed  against  the  savages,  involuntarily 
sought  the  lock  of  his  carbine.  His  look  and  action 
were  menacing,  though  his  roving  eye  could  see  no 
object  to  excite  alarm. 

Not  so  Conanchet.  His  quicker  and  more  prac 
tised  vision  soon  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  warrior 
who  was  approaching,  occasionally  concealed  by  the 
trunks  of  trees,  and  whose  tread  on  the  dried  leaves 
had  first  betrayed  his  proximity.  Folding  his  arms 
on  his  naked  bosom,  the  Narragansett  chief  awaited 
the  coming  of  the  other,  in  an  attitude  of  calmness 
and  dignity.  Neither  did  he  speak  nor  suffer  a  mus 
cle  to  play,  until  a  hand  was  placed  on  one  of  his 
arms,  and  he  who  had  drawn  near  said,  in  tones  of 
amity  and  respect — 


43G  THE    WEPT 

"  The  young  Sachem  hath  come  to  look  f  jr  his 
brother?" 

"  Wampanoag,  I  have  followed  the  trail,  that 
your  ears  may  listen  to  the  talk  of  a  Pale-face." 

The  third  person  in  this  interview  was  Metacom. 
He  shot  a  haughty  and  fierce  glance  at  the  stranger, 
and  then  turned  to  his  companion  in  arms,  with  re 
covered  calmness,  to  reply. 

"Has  Conanchet  counted  his  young  men  since 
they  raised  the  whoop  ?"  he  asked,  in  the  language 
of  the  aborigines.  "  I  saw  many  go  into  the  fields, 
that  never  came  back.  Let  the  white  men  die." 

"  Wampanoag,  he  is  led  by  the  wrampum  of  a 
Sachem.  I  have  not  counted  my  young  men  ;  but 
I  know  that  they  are  strong  enough  to  say  that  what 
their  chief  hath  promised  shall  be  done." 

"  If  the  Yengeese  is  a  friend  of  my  brother,  he  is 
welcome.  The  wigwam  of  Metacom  is  open ;  let 
him  enter  it." 

Philip  made  a  sign  for  the  others  to  follow,  and 
led  the  way  to  the  place  he  had  named. 

The  spoi  chosen  by  Philip  for  his  temporary  en 
campment,  was  suited  to  such  a  purpose.  There 
was  a  thicket,  denser  than  common,  on  one  of  its 
sides;  a  steep  and  high  rock  protected  and  sheltered 
its  rear ;  a  swift  and  wide  brook  dashed  over  frag 
ments  that  had  fallen,  with  time,  from  the  preci 
pice  in  its  front ;  and  towards  the  setting  sun,  a 
whirlwind  had  opened  a  long  and  melancholy  glade 
through  the  forest.  A  few  huts  of  brush  leaned 
against  the  base  of  the  hill,  and  the  scanty  imple 
ments  of  their  domestic  economy  were  scattered 
among  the  habitations  of  the  savages.  The  whole 
party  did  not  number  twenty;  for,  as  has  been  said, 
the  Wampanoag  had  acted  latterly  more  by  the 
agency  of  his  allies,  than  with  the  materials  of  his 
own  proper  force. 

The  three  were  soon  seated  on  a  rock  whose  foot 


OF   'WiSII-TON-tflSH.  437 


was  washed  by  the  rapid  current  of  the  tumbling 
water.  A  few  gloomy-looking  and  fierce  Indians 
watched  the  conference,  in  the  back-ground. 

'My  brother  hath  followed  my  trail,  that  my 
ears  may  hear  the  words  of  a  Yengeese,"  Philip 
commenced,  after  a  sufficient  period  had  elapsed  to 
escape  the  imputation  of  curiosity.  "  Let  him  speak." 

"  I  have  come  singly  into  the  jaws  of  the  lion, 
^estless  and  remorseless  leader  of  the  savages,"  re 
turned  the  bold  exile,  "  that  you  may  hear  the  worda 
of  peace.  Why  hath  the  son  seen  the  acts  of  the 
English  so  differently  from  the  father  ]  Massassoit 
was  a  friend  of  the  persecuted  and  patient  pilgrims 
who  have  sought  rest  and  refuge  in  this  Bethel  of 
the  faithful  ;  but  thou  hast  hardened  thy  heart  to 
their  prayers,  and  seekest  the  blood  of  those  who 
wish  thee  no  wrong.  Doubtless  thy  nature  is  one  of 
pride  and  mistaken  vanities,  like  that  of  all  thy  race, 
and  it  hath  seemed  needful  to  the  vain-glory  of  thy 
name  and  nation  to  battle  against  men  of  a  differ 
ent  origin.  But  know  there  is  one  who  is  master  of 
all  here  on  earth,  as  he  is  King  of  Heaven  !  It  is 
his  pleasure  that  the  sweet  savor  of  his  worship 
should  arise  from  the  wilderness.  His  will  is  law, 
and  they  that  would  withstand  do  but  kick  against 
the  pricks.  Listen  then  to  peaceful  counsels,  that 
the  land  may  be  parcelled  justly  to  meet  the  wants 
of  all,  and  the  country  be  prepared  for  the  incense 
of  the  altar." 

This  exhortation  was  uttered  in  a  deep  and  almost 
unearthly  voice,  and  with  a  degree  of  excitement 
that  was  probably  increased  by  the  intensity  with 
which  the  solitary  had  lately  been  brooding  over  his 
peculiar  opinions,  and  the  terrible  scenes  in  which 
ne  had  so  recently  been  an  actor.  Philip  listened 
with  the  high  courtesy  of  an  Indian  prince.  Unin 
telligible  as  was  the  meaning  of  the  speaker,  his 
countenance  betrayed  no  gleaming  of  impatience, 
37* 


438  THE  WEPT 

his  lip  no  smile  of  ridicule.  On  the  contrary,  a  noble 
and  lofty  gravity  reigned  in  every  feature ;  and  ig 
norant  as  he  was  of  what  the  other  wished  to  say, 
his  attentive  eye  and  bending  head  expressed  every 
wish  to  comprehend. 

"  My  pale  friend  hath  spoken  very  wisely,"  he 
said,  when  the  other  ceased  to  speak.  "  But  he  doth 
not  see  clearly  in  these  woods ;  he  sits  too  much  in 
the  shade.  His  eye  is  better  in  a  clearing.  Metacom 
is  not  a  fierce  beast.  His  claws  are  worn  out,  his 
legs  are  tired  with  travelling.  He  cannot  jump  far. 
My  pale  friend  wants  to  divide  the  land,  j  Why 
trouble  the  Great  Spirit  to  do  his  work  twice  ?  •  He 
gave  the  Wampanoags  their  hunting-grounds,  and 
places  on  the  salt  lake  to  catch  their  fish  and  clams, 
and  he  did  not  forget  his  children  the  Narragansetts. 
He  put  them  in  the  midst  of  the  water,  for  he  saw 
that  they  could  swim.  Did  he  forget  the  Yengeese  1 
or  did  he  put  them  in  a  swamp,  where  they  would 
turn  into  frogs  and  lizards !" 

"  Heathen,  my  voice  shall  never  deny  the  bounties 
of  my  God !  His  hand  hath  placed  my  fathers  in  a 
fertile  land,  rich  in  the  good  things  of  the  world, 
fortunate  in  position,  sea-girt  and  impregnable. 
Happy  is  he  who  can  find  justification  in  dwelling 
within  its  borders  !" 

An  empty  gourd  lay  on  the  rock  at  the  side  of 
Metacom.  Bending  over  the  stream,  he  filled  it  to 
the  brim  with  water,  and  held  the  vessel  before  the 
eyes  of  his  companions. 

'*  See,"  he  said,  pointing  to  the  even  surface  of 
the  fluid:  "so  much  hath  the  Great  Spirit  said  it 
shall  hold.  "  Now,"  he  added,  filling  the  hollow  of 
the  other  hand  from  the  brook,  and  casting  its  con 
tents  into  the  gourd,  "  now  my  brother  knows  that 
some  must  come  away.  It  is  so  with  his  country. 
There  is  no  longer  room  in  it  for  my  pale  friend." 

"Did  I  attempt  to  deceive  thine  ears  with  this 


OF    W1SH-TOK-WISH.  439 

tale,  I  should  lay  falsehood  to  m}r  soul.  We  ara 
many,  and  sorry  am  I  to  say  that  some  among  us 
are  like  unto  them  that  were  called  "Legion."  But 
to  say  that  there  is  not  still  place  for  all  to  die  where 
they  are  horn,  is  to  utter  damning  untruth." 

"  The  land  of  the  Yengeese  is  then  good — very 
good,"  returned  Philip ;  "  but  their  young  men  like 
one  that  is  better." 

"  Thy  nature,  Wampanoag,  is  not  equal  to  com 
prehend  the  motives  which  have  led  us  hither,  and 
our  discourse  is  getting  vain." 

"  My  brother  Conanchet  is  a  Sachem.  The  leaves 
that  fall  from  the  trees  of  his  country,  in  the  season 
of  frosts,  blow  into  my  hunting-grounds.  We  are 
neighbors  and  friends,"  slightly  bending  his  head  to 
the  Narragansett.  "  When  a  wicked  Indian  runs 
from  the  islands  to  the  wigwams  of  my  people,  he  is 
whipt  and  sent  back.  We  keep  the  path  between  us 
open,  only  for  honest  red  men." 

Philip  spoke  with  a  sneer,  that  his  habitual  lofti 
ness  of  manner  did  not  conceal  from  his  associate 
chief,  though  it  was  so  slight  as  entirely  to  escape 
the  observation  of  him  who  was  the  subject  of  his 
sarcasm.  The  former  took  the  alarm,  and  for  the 
first  time  during  the  dialogue  did  he  break  silence. 

"  My  pale  father  is  a  brave  warrior,"  said  the 
young  Sachem  of  the  Narragansetts.  "His  hand 
took  the  scalp  of  the  Great  Sagamore  of  his  peo 
ple  r 

The  countenance  of  Metacom  changed  instantly. 
In  place  of  the  ironical  scorn  that  was  gathering 
about  his  lip,  its  expression  became  serious  and  re 
spectful.  He  gazed  steadily  at  the  hard  and  weather- 
beaten  features  of  his  guest,  and  it  is  probable  that 
words  of  higher  courtesy  than  any  lie  had  yet  uised 
would  have  fallen  from  him,  had  not,  at  that  mo 
ment,  a  signal  been  given,  by  a  young  Indian  set  to 
watch  on  the  summit  of  the  rock,  that  one  approach- 


440  THE    WEPT 

etl.  Both  Metacom  and  Conanchet  appeared  to  hear 
this  cry  with  some  uneasiness.  Neither  however 
arose,  nor  did  either  hetraj  such  evidence  of  alarm 
as  denoted  a  deeper  interest  in  the  interruption, 
than  the  circumstances  might  very  naturally  create 
A  warrior  was  shortly  seen  entering  the  encamp 
ment,  from  the  side  of  the  forest  which  was  known 
to  lie  in  the  direction  of  the  Wish-Ton-Wish. 

The  moment  Conanchet  saw  the  person  of  the 
newly-arrived  man,  his  eye  and  attitude  resumed 
their  former  repose,  though  the  look  of  Metacom 
still  continued  gloomy  and  distrustful.  The  differ 
ence  in  the  manner  of  the  chiefs  was  not  however 
sufficiently  strong  to  be  remarked  by  Submission, 
who  was  about  to  resume  the  discourse,  when  the 
new-comer  moved  past  the  cluster  of  warriors  in 
the  encampment,  and  took  his  seat  near  them,  on  a 
stone  so  low,  that  the  water  laved  his  feet.  As 
usual  there  was  no  greeting  between  the  Indians  for 
some  moments,  the  three  appearing  to  regard  the 
arrival  as  a  mere  thing  of  course.  But  the  unea 
siness  of  Metacom  prompted  a  communication  sooner 
than  common. 

"  Mohtucket,"  he  said,  in  the  language  of  their 
tribe,  "  hath  lost  the  trail  of  his  friends.  We  thought 
the  crows  of  the  pale-men  were  picking  his  bones!" 

"  There  was  no  scalp  at  his  belt,  and  Mohtucket 
was  ashamed  to  be  seen  among  the  young  men  with 
an  empty  hand." 

"  H(i  remembered  that  he  had  too  often  come 
back  without  striking  a  dead  enemy,"  returned 
Metacom,  about  whose  firm  mouth  lurked  an  ex 
pression  of  ill-concealed  contempt.  "  Has  he  now 
touched  a  warrior  ?" 

The  Indian,  who  was  merely  a  man  of  the  infe 
rior  class,  held  up  the  trophy  which  hung  at  his 
girdle  to  the  examination  of  his  chief.  Metacom 
looked  at  the  disgusting  object  with  the  calmness, 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  441 

and  nearly  with  the  interest,  that  a  virtuoso  would 
lavish  on  an  antique  memorial  of  some  triumph  of 
former  ages.  His  finger  was  thrust  through  a  hole 
in  the  skin,  and  then,  while  he  resumed  his  former 
position,  he  observed  drily — 

"A  bullet  hath  hit  the  head.  The  arrow  of 
Mohtucket  doth  little  harm  !" 

"  Metacom  hath  never  looked  on  his  young  man 
like  a  friend,  since  the  brother  of  Mohtucket  was 
killed." 

The  glance  thatPhilipcast  at  his  underling,  though 
it  was  not  unmingled  with  suspicion,  was  one  of 
princely  and  savage  scorn.  Their  white  auditor 
had  not  been  able  to  understand  the  discourse,  but 
the  dissatisfaction  and  uneasiness  of  the  eyes  of  both 
were  too  obvious  not  to  show  that  the  conference 
was  far  from  being  amicable. 

"  The  Sachem  hath  discontent  with  his  young 
man,"  he  observed,  "  and  from  this  may  he  under 
stand  the  nature  of  that  which  leadeth  many  to  quit 
'the  land  of  their  fathers,  beneath  the  rising  sun,  to 
come  to  this  wilderness  in  the  west.  If  he  will  now 
listen,  I  will  touch  further  on  the  business  of  my  er 
rand,  and  deal  more  at  large  with  the  subject  we 
have  but  so  lightly  skimmed." 

Philip  manifested  attention.  He  smiled  on  his 
guest,  and  even  bowed  his  assent  to  the  proposal ; 
still  his  keen  eye  seemed  to  read  the  soul  of  his 
subordinate,  through  the  veil  of  his  gloomy  visage. 
There  was  a  play  of  the  fingers  of  his  right  hand, 
when  the  arm  fell  from  its  position  across  his  bosom, 
to  his  thigh,  as  if  they  itched  to  grasp  the  knife 
whose  buck-horn  handle  lay  within  a  few  inches  of 
their  reach.  Yet  his  air  to  the  white  man  was 
composed  and  dignified.  The  latter  was  again  about 
to  speak,  when  the  arches  of  the  forest  suddenly 
rung  with  the  report  of  a  musket.  All  in  and  near 
the  encampment  sprung  to  their  feet  at  the  well- 


442  THE    WEPT 

known  sound,  and  yet  all  continued  as  motionless  as 
if  so  many  dark  but  breathing  statues  had  been 
planted  there.  The  rustling  of  leaves  was  heard, 
and  then  the  body  of  the  young  Indian,  who  had 
been  posted  on  the  rock,  rolled  to  the  edge  of  the 
precipice,  whence  it  fell,  like  a  log,  on  the  yielding 
roof  of  one  of  the  lodges  beneath.  A  shout  iseued 
from  the  forest  behind,  a  volley  roared  among  the 
trees,  and  glancing  lead  was  whistling  through  the 
air,  and  cutting  twigs  from  the  undergrowth  on 
every  side.  Two  more  of  the  Wampanoags  were 
seen  rolling  on  the  earth,  in  the  death-agony. 

The  voice  of  Annawon  was  heard  in  the  en 
campment,  and  at  the  next  instant  the  place  was 
deserted. 

During  this  startling  and  fearful  moment,  the 
four  individuals  near  the  stream  were  inactive. 
Conanchet  and  his  Christian  friend  stood  to  their 
arms,  but  it  was  rather  as  men  cling  to  the  means 
of  defence  in  moments  of  great  jeopardy,  than  with 
any  intention  of  offensive  hostilities.  Metacom 
seemed  undecided.  Accustomed  to  receive  and  in 
flict  surprises,  a  warrior  so  experienced  could  not 
be  disconcerted ;  still  he  hesitated  as  to  the  course 
he  ought  to  take.  But  when  Annawon,  who  was 
nearer  the  scene,  sounded  the  signal  of  retreat,  he 
sprung  towards  the  returned  straggler,  and  with  a 
single  blow  of  his  tomahawk  brained  the  traitor. 
Glances  of  fierce  revenge,  and  of  inextinguishable 
though  disappointed  hatred,  were  exchanged  be 
tween  the  victim  and  his  chief,  as  the  former  lay 
on  the  rock  gasping  for  breath ;  and  then  the  latter 
turned  in  his  tracks,  and  raised  the  dripping  weapon 
over  the  head  of  the  white  man. 

"  Wampanoag,  no !"  said  Conanchet,  in  a  voice 
of  thunder.  "  Our  lives  are  one  " 

Philip  hesitated.  Fierce  and  dangerous  passions 
were  struggling  in  his  breast,  but  the  habitual  self- 


OF    WISIi-TON-WISH.  443 

command  of  the  wily  politician  of  those  woods  pre 
vailed.     Even  in  that  scene  of  blood  and  alarm,  he 
smiled  on  his  powerful  and  fearless  young  ally  ;  then 
pointing  to  the  deepest  shades  of  the  forest,  he 
bounded  towards  them  with  the  activity  of  a  deer 


CHAPTEB  XXX. 


"  But,  peace  be  with  him ! 
That  life  is  better  life,  past  fearing  death, 
Than  thai  which  lives  to  fear." 

MEASURE  FOR  MEASURE. 


COURAGE  is  both  a  comparative  and  an  improvable 
virtue.  If  the  fear  of  death  be  a  weakness  common  to 
the  race,  it  is  one  that  is  capable  of  being  diminished 
by  frequent  exposure,  and  even  rendered  extinct  by 
reflection.  It  was  therefore  with  sensibilities  en 
tirely  changed  from  their  natural  course,  that  the 
two  individuals  who  were  left  alone  by  the  retreat 
of  Philip,  saw  the  nature  and  the  approach  of  the 
danger  that  now  beset  them.  Their  position  near 
the  brook  had  so  far  protected  them  from  the  bullets 
of  the  assailants;  but  it  was  equally  obvious  to  both, 
that  in  a  minute  or  two  the  Colonists  would  enter 
an  encampment  that  was  already  deserted.  Each, 
in  consequence,  acted  according  to  those  opinions 
which  had  been  fostered  by  the  habits  of  their  re 
spective  lives. 

As  Conanchet  had  no  act  of  vengeance,  like  that 
which  Metacom  had  performed,  immediately  before 
his  eyes,  he  had,  at  the  first  alarm,  given  all  his 
faculties  to  the  nature  of  the  attack.  The  first 


444  THE    WEFT 

minute  was  sufficient  to  understand  its  character 
and  the  second  enabled  him  to  decide. 

"  Come,"  he  said  hastily,  but  with  perfect  sell 
possession,  pointing  as  he  spoke  to  the  swift-running 
stream  at  his  feet;  "we  will  go  with  the  water;  let 
the  marks  of  our  trail  run  before." 

Submission  hesitated.  There  was  something  like 
haughty  military  pride  in  the  stern  determination 
of  his  eye,  which  seemed  reluctant  to  incur  the 
disgrace  of  a  flight  so  unequivocal,  and,  as  He  might 
have  believed,  so  unworthy  of  his  character. 

"  No,  JVarragansett !"  he  answered ;  "flee  for  thy 
life,  but  leave  me  to  reap  the  harvest  of  my  deeds. 
They  can  but  leave  my  bones  by  the  side  of  those 
of  this  traitor  at  my  feet." 

The  mien  of  Conanchet  was  neither  excited  nor 
displeased.  He  quietly  drew  the  corner  of  his  light 
robe  over  a  shoulder,  and  was  about  to  resume  his 
seat  on  the  stone  from  which  he  had  but  a  minute 
before  arisen,  when  his  companion  again  urged  him 
to  fly. 

"  The  enemies  of  a  chief  must  not  say  that  he 
led  his  friend  into  a  trap,  and  that  when  his  leg  was 
fast  he  ran  away  himself,  like  a  lucky  fox.  If  my 
brother  stays  to  be  killed,  Conanchet  will  be  found 
near  him." 

"  Heathen,  heathen  !"  returned  the  other,  moved 
nearly  to  tears  by  the  loyalty  of  his  guide ;  "  many 
a  Christian  man  might  take  lessons  from  thy  faith. 
Lead  on — I  will  follow,  at  the  utmost  of  my  speed." 

The  Narragansett  sprung  into  the  brook,  and 
took  its  downward  course — a  direction  opposite  to 
that  which  Philip  had  chosen.  There  was  wisdom 
in  this  expedient,  for  though  their  pursuers  might 
see  that  the  water  was  troubled,  there  was  no  cer 
tainty  as  to  the  direction  of  the  fugitives.  Conanchet 
had  foreseen  this  little  advantage,  and,  with  the  in 
stinctive  readiness  of  his  people,  he  did  not  fail  to 


OF    WIS1I-TON-WISH.  445 

make  it  of  service.  Metacom  had  been  influenced 
by  the  course  taken  by  his  warriors,  who  had  re 
tired  under  shelter  of  the  rocks. 

Ere  the  two  fugitives  had  gone  any  great  distance, 
they  heard  the  shouts  of  their  enemies  in  the  en 
campment  ;  and  soon  after,  scattering  shot  announced 
that  Philip  had  already  rallied  his  people  to  resist 
ance.  There  was  an  assurance  of  safety  in  the  lat 
ter  circumstance,  which  caused  them  to  relax  their 
speed. 

"My  foot  is  not  as  active  as  in  days  that  are  past," 
said  Submission;  "we  will  therefore  recover  strength 
while  we  may,  lest  we  be  yet  taken  at  emergency. 
Narragansett,  thou  hast  ever  kept  thy  faith  with 
me,  and  come  of  what  race  or  worship  in  what 
manner  thou  mayst,  there  is  one  to  remember  it." 

"  My  father  looked  with  the  eye  of  a  friend  on 
the  Indian  boy,  that  was  kept  like  a  young  bear  in 
a  cage.  He  taught  him  to  speak  with  the  tongue  of 
a  Yengeese." 

"We  passed  weary  months  together  in  our  prison, 
Chief;  and  Apollyon  must  have  been  strong  in  a 
heart,  to  resist  the  opportunity  of  friendship  in  such 
a  situation.  But,  even  there,  my  confidence  and  care 
•were  repaid,  for  without  thy  mysterious  hints,  gath 
ered  from  signs  thou  hadst  gleaned  thyself  during 
the  hunt,  it  would  not  have  been  in  my  power  to 
warn  my  friends  that  thy  people  contemplated  an 
attack,  the  unhappy  night  of  the  burning.  Nar- 
ragansett,  we  have  done  many  acts  of  kindness, 
each  in  his  own  fashion,  and  I  am  ready  to  confess 
this  last  not  to  be  the  least  of  thy  favors  Though 
of  white  blood  and  of  Christian  origin,  I  can  almost 
say  that  my  heart  is  Indian." 

"  Then  die  an  Indian's  death  !"  shouted  a  voice, 
within  twenty  feet  of  the  spot  where  they  were 
wading  down  the  stream. 

The  menacing  words  were  rather  accompanied 
38 


446 


THE    WEPT 


than  seconded  by  a  shot,  and  Submission  fell.  Co- 
nanchet  cast  his  musket  into  the  water,  and  turned 
to  raise  his  companion. 

"  It  was  merely  age  dealing  with  the  slippery 
stones  of  the  brook ;"  said  the  latter,  as  he  recovered 
his  footing.  "  That  had  well-nigh  been  a  fatal  dis 
charge  !  but  God,  for  his  own  purpose,  hath  still 
averted  the  blow." 

Conanchet  did  not  speak.  Seizing  his  gun,  which 
lay  at  the  bottom  of  the  stream,  he  drew  his  friend 
after  him  to  the  shore,  and  plunged  into  the  thicket 
that  lined  its  banks.  Here  they  were  momentarily 
protected  from  missiles.  But  the  shouts  that  suc 
ceeded  the  discharge  of  the  muskets,  were  accom 
panied  by  yells  that  he  knew  to  proceed  from  Pe- 
quots  and  Mohegaris,  tribes  that  were  in  deadly 
hostility  to  his  own  people.  The  hope  of  concealing 
their  trail  from  such  pursuers  was  not  to  be  indulged, 
and  for  his  companion  to  escape  by  flight  he  knew 
to  be  impossible.  There  was  no  time  to  lose.  In 
such  emergencies,  with  an  Indian,  thought  takes  the 
character  of  instinct.  The  fugitives  stood  at  the 
foot  of  a  sapling,  whose  top  was  completely  con 
cealed  by  masses  of  leaves,  which  belonged  to  the 
under-brush  that  clustered  around  its  trunk.  Into 
this  tree  he  assisted  Submission  to  ascend,  and  then, 
without  explaining  his  own  views,  he  instantly  left 
the  spot,  rendering  his  own  trail  as  broad  and  per 
ceptible  as  possible,  by  beating  down  the  bushes  as 
he  passed. 

The  expedient  of  the  faithful  Narragansett  was 
completely  successful.  Before  he  had  got  a  hundred 
yards  from  the  place,  he  saw  the  foremost  of  the 
hostile  Indians  hunting  like  blood-hounds  on  his 
footsteps.  His  movement  was  slow,  until  he  saw 
that,  having  his  person  in  view,  all  of  the  pursuers 
had  passed  the  tree.  Then,  the  arrow  parting  from 
the  bow  was  scarce  swifter  than  his  flight. 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  447 

The  pursuit  now  partook  of  all  the  exciting  in 
cidents  and  ingenious  expedients  of  an  Indian  chase. 
Conanchet  was  soon  hunted  from  his  cover,  and 
obliged  to  trust  his  person  in  the  more  open  parts 
of  the  forest.  Miles  of  hill  and  ravine,  of  plain,  of 
rocks,  of  morass  and  stream,  were  crossed,  and  still 
the  trained  warrior  held  on  his  way,  unbroken  in 
spirit  and  scarce  wearied  in  limb.  The  merit  of  a 
savage,  in  such  an  employment,  rests  more  on  his 
bottom  than  on  his  speed.  The  three  or  four  Colo 
nists,  who  had  been  sent  with  the  party  of  amicable 
Indians  to  intercept  those  who  might  attempt  to 
escape  down  the  stream,  were  early  thrown  out ; 
and  the  struggle  was  now  entirely  between  the 
fugitive  and  men  equally  practised  in  limb  and  in 
genious  in  expedient. 

The  Pequots  had  a  great  advantage  in  their  num 
ber.  The  frequent  doublings  of  the  fugitive  kept 
the  chase  within  the  circle  of  a  mile,  and  as  each 
of  his  enemies  tired,  there  were  always  fresh  pur 
suers  to  take  his  place.  In  such  a  contest,  the  result 
could  not  be  questionable.  After  more  than  two 
hours  of  powerful  exertion,  the  foot  of  Conanchet 
began  to  fail,  and  his  speed  very  sensibly  to  flag. 
Exhausted  by  efforts  that  had  been  nearly  super 
natural,  the  breathless  warrior  cast  his  person  pros 
trate  on  the  earth,  and  lay  for  several  minutes  as 
if  he  were  dead. 

During  this  breathing-time,  his  throbbing  pulses 
grew  more  calm,  his  heart  beat  less  violently,  and 
the  circulation  was  gradually  returning  to  the  tran 
quil  flow  of  nature  in  a  state  of  rest.  It  was  at  this 
moment,  when  his  energies  were  recruited  by  rest, 
that  the  chief  heard  the  tread  of  the  moccasons  on 
his  trail.  Rising,  he  looked  back  on  the  course  over 
which  he  had  just  passed  with  so  much  pain.  But 
a  single  warrior  was  in  view.  Hope  for  an  instant 
regained  the  ascendency,  and  he  raised  his  musket 


448  THE    WEPT 

to  fell  his  approaching  adversary.  The  aim  was 
cool,  long,  and  it  would  have  been  fatal,  had  not  the 
useless  tick  of  the  lock  reminded  him  of  the  condi 
tion  of  the  gun.  He  cast  the  wet  and  unserviceable 
piece  away,  and  grasped  his  tomahawk ;  but  a  band 
of  Pequots  rushed  in  to  the  rescue,  rendering  resist 
ance  madness.  Perceiving  the  hopelessness  of  his 
situation,  the  Sachem  of  the  Narragansetts  dropped 
his  tomahawk,  loosened  his  belt,  and  advanced  un 
armed,  with  a  noble  resignation,  to  meet  his  foes. 
In  the  next  instant,  he  was  their  prisoner. 

"  Bring  me  to  your  chief,"  said  the  captive,  haugh 
tily,  when  the  common  herd  into  whose  hands  he 
had  fallen  would  have  questioned  him  en  the  sub 
ject  of  his  companions  and  of  his  own  fate.  "  My 
tongue  is  used  to  speak  with  Sachems." 

He  was  obeyed,  and  before  an  hour  had  passed, 
the  renowned  Conanchet  stood  confronted  with  his 
most  deadly  enemy. 

The  place  of  meeting  was  the  deserted  encamp 
ment  of  the  band  of  Philip.  Here  most  of  the  pur 
suers  had  already  assembled,  including  all  of  the 
Colonists  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  expedition. 
The  latter  consisted  of  Meek  Wolfe,  Ensign  Dudley, 
Sergeant  Ring,  and  a  dozen  private  men  of  the 
village. 

The  result  of  the  enterprise  was,  by  this  time, 
generally  known.  Though  Metacom,  its  principal 
object,  had  escaped;  yet,  when  it  was  understood 
that  the  Sachem  of  the  Narragansetts  had  fallen 
into  their  hands,  there  was  not  an  individual  of  the 
party  who  did  not  think  his  personal  risk  more  than 
amply  compensated.  Though  the  Mohegans  and 
Pequots  restrained  their  exultation,  lest  the  pride 
of  their  captive  should  be  soothed  by  such  an  evi 
dence  of  his  importance,  the  white  men  drew  around 
the  prisoner  with  an  interest  and  a  joy  they  did  not 
care  to  conceal.  Still,  as  he  had  yielded  to  an  In- 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  449 

dian,  there  was  an  affectation  of  leaving  the  chief 
to  the  clemency  of  his  conquerors.  Perhaps  some 
deeply-pondered  scheme  of  policy  had  its  influence 
in  this  act  of  seeming  justice. 

When  Conanchet  was  placed  in  the  centre  of  the 
curious  circle,  he  found  himself  immediately  in 
presence  of  the  principal  chief  of  the  tribe  of  the 
Mohegans.  It  was  Uncas,  son  of  that  Uncas  whose 
fortunes  had  also  prevailed,  aided  by  the  whites,  in 
the  conflict  with  his  father,  the  hapless  but  noble 
Miantonimoh.  Fate  had  now  decreed,  that  the 
same  evil  star,  which  had  governed  the  destinies  of 
the  ancestor,  should  extend  its  influence  to  the  sec 
ond  generation. 

The  race  of  Uncas,  though  weakened  of  its  power, 
and  shorn  of  much  of  its  peculiar  grandeur,  by  a 
vicious  alliance  with  the  English,  still  retained  most 
of  the  fine  qualities  of  savage  heroism.  He,  who 
now  stood  forth  to  receive  his  captive,  was  a  warrior 
of  middle  age,  of  just  proportions,  of  a  grave  though 
fierce  aspect,  and  of  an  eye  and  countenance  that 
expressed  all  those  contradictory  traits  of  character 
which  render  the  savage  warrior  almost  as  admira 
ble  as  he  is  appalling.  Until  this  moment,  the  rival 
chieftains  had  never  met,  except  in  the  confusion 
of  battle.  For  a  few  minutes,  neither  spoke. 
Each  stood  regarding  the  fine  outlines,  the  eagle 
eye,  the  proud  bearing,  and  the  severe  gravity,  of 
the  other,  in  secret  admiration,  but  with  a  calmness 
so  immovable,  as  entirely  to  conceal  the  workings 
of  his  thoughts.  At  length,  they  began  to  assume 
miens  suited  to  the  part  each  was  to  enact  in  the 
coming  scene.  The  countenance  of  Uncas  became 
ironical  and  exulting,  while  that  of  his  captive  grew 
still  more  cold  and  unconcerned. 

"  My  young  men,"  said  the  former,  "  have  taken 
a  fox  skulking  in  the  bushes.    His  legs  were  very 
long ;  but  he  had  no  heart  to  use  them." 
38* 


450  THE    WEPT 

Conanchet  folded  his  arms  on  his  bosom,  and  the 
glance  of  his  quiet  eye  seemed  to  tell  his  enemy, 
that  devices  so  common  were  unworthy  of  them 
both.  The  other  either  understood  its  meaning,  or 
loftier  feelings  prevailed ;  for  he  added,  in  a  better 
taste — 

"  Is  Conanchet  tired  of  his  life,  that  he  comes 
among  my  young  men  ?" 

"  Mohican,"  said  the  Narragansett  chief,  "  he  has 
been  there  before ;  if  Uncas  will  count  his  warriors) 
he  will  see  that  some  are  wanting." 

"  There  are  no  traditions  among  the  Indians  of 
the  islands !"  said  the  other,  with  an  ironical  glance 
at  the  chiefs  near  him,  "  They  have  never  heard 
of  Miantonimoh ;  they  do  not  know  such  a  field  as 
the  Sachem's  plain !" 

The  countenance  of  the  prisoner  changed.  For 
a  single  instant,  it  appeared  to  grow  dark,  as  if  a 
deep  shadow  were  cast  athwart  it ;  and  then  every 
feature  rested,  as  before,  in  dignified  repose.  His 
conqueror  watched  the  play  of  his  lineaments,  and 
when  he  thought  nature  was  getting  the  ascendancy, 
exultation  gleamed  about  his  own  fierce  eye ;  but 
when  the  self-possession  of  the  Narragansett  return 
ed,  he  affected  to  think  no  more  of  an  effort  that 
had  been  fruitless. 

"  If  the  men  of  the  islands  know  little,"  he  con 
tinued,  it  is  not  so  with  the  Mohicans.  There  was 
once  a  great  Sachem  among  the  Narragansetts ;  he 
was  wiser  than  the  beaver,  swifter  than  the  moose, 
and  more  cunning  than  the  red  fox.  But  he  could 
not  see  into  to-morrow.  Foolish  counsellors  told 
him  to  go  upon  the  war-path  against  the  Pequots 
and  Mohicans.  He  lost  his  scalp ;  it  hangs  in  the 
smoke  of  my  wigwam.  We  shall  see  if  it  will  know 
the  hair  of  its  son.  Narragansett,  here  are  wise 
men  of  the  Pale-faces;  they  \vill  speak  to  you.  If 


OF    WISII-TON-WISH.  451 

they  offer  a  pipe,  smoke :  for  tobacco  is  not  plenty 
with  your  tribe." 

Uncas  then  turned  away,  leaving  his  prisoner  to 
the  interrogatories  of  his  white  allies. 

"  Here  is  the  look  of  Miantonimoh,  Sergeant 
Ring,"  observed  Ensign  Dudley  to  his  wife's  brother, 
after  he  had  contemplated  for  a  reasonable  time 
the  features  of  the  prisoner.  "  I  see  the  eye  and 
the  tread  of  the  father,  in  this  young  Sachem.  And 
more,  Sergeant  Ring  ;  the  chief  favors  the  boy  we 
picked  up  in  the  fields  some  dozen  years  agone,  and 
kept  in  the  block  for  the  matter  of  many  months, 
caged  like  a  young  panther.  Hast  forgotten  the 
night,  Reuben,  and  the  lad,  and  the  block  ?  A  fiery 
oven  is  not  hotter  than  that  pile  was  getting,  before 
we  dove  into  the  earth.  I  never  fail  to  think  of  it, 
when  the  good  Minister  is  dealing  powerfully  with 
the  punishments  of  the  wicked,  and  the  furnaces  of 
Tophet !" 

The  silent  yeoman  comprehended  the  disconnect 
ed  allusions  of  his  relative,  nor  was  he  slow  in  seeing 
the  palpable  resemblance  between  their  prisoner 
and  the  Indian  boy  whose  person  had  once  been  so 
familiar  to  his  eye.  Admiration  and  surprise  were 
blended,  in  his  honest  face,  with  an  expression  that 
appeared  to  announce  deep  regret.  As  neither  of 
these  individuals,  however,  was  the  principal  per 
sonage  of  their  party,  each  was  fain  to  remain  an 
attentive  and  an  interested  observer  of  that  which 
followed. 

"  Worshipper  of  Baal !"  commenced  the  sepul 
chral  voice  of  the  divine;  "it  has  pleased  the  King 
of  Heaven  and  earth  to  protect  his  people !  The 
triumph  of  thy  evil  nature  hath  been  short,  and 
now  cometh  the  judgment !" 

These  words  were  uttered  to  ears  that  affected 
deafness.  In  the  presence  of  his  most  deadly  foe, 
and  a  captive,  Conanchet  was  not  a  man  to  suffer 


452  THE    WEPT 

his  resolution  to  waver.  He  looked  coldly  and  va 
cantly  on  the  speaker,  nor  could  the  most  suspicious 
or  the  most  practised  eye  have  detected  in  his  mien 
his  knowledge  of  the  English  language.  Deceived 
by  the  stoicism  of  the  prisoner,  Meek  muttered  a 
few  words,  in  which  the  Narragansett  was  strangely 
dealt  by,  denunciations  and  petitions  in  his  favor 
being  blended  in  the  quaint  and  exaggerated  fash 
ions  of  the  times ;  and  then  he  submitted  to  the  in 
terference  of  those  present,  who  were  charged  with 
the  duty  of  deciding  on  the  fate  of  the  Indian. 

Although  Eben  Dudley  was  the  principal  and  the 
efficient  military  man  in  this  little  expedition  from 
the  valley,  he  was  accompanied  by  those  whose  au 
thority  was  predominant  in  all  matters  that  did  not 
strictly  appertain  to  the  executive  portion  of  the 
duty.  Commissioners,  named  by  the  Government  of 
the  Colony,  had  come  out  with  the  party,  clothed 
with  power  to  dispose  of  Philip,  should  that  dreaded 
chief,  as  was  expected,  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
English.  To  these  persons  the  fate  of  Conanchel 
was  now  referred. 

We  shall  not  detain  the  narrative  to  dwell  on  the 
particulars  of  the  council.  The  question  was  gravely 
considered,  and  it  was  decided  with  a  deep  and 
conscientious  sense  of  the  responsibility  of  those 
who  acted  as  judges.  Several  hours  were  passed 
in  deliberation,  Meek  opening  and  closing  the  de 
liberations  by  solemn  prayers.  The  judgment  was 
then  announced  to  Uncas,  by  the  divine  himself. 

"  The  wise  men  of  my  people  have  consulted  to 
gether  in  the  matter  of  this  Narragansett,"  he  said, 
"and  their  spirits  have  wrestled  powerfully  with 
the  subject.  In  coming  to  their  conclusion,  if  it 
wear  the  aspect  of  time-serving,  let  all  remember, 
the  Providence  of  Heaven  hath  so  interwoven  the 
interests  of  man  with  its  own  good  purposes,  that 
to  the  carnal  eye  they  may  outwardly  seem  ro  be 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  453 

inseparable.  But  that  which  is  here  done  is  done 
in  good  faith  to  our  ruling  principle,  which  is  good 
faith  to  thee  and  to  all  others  who  support  the  al 
tar  in  this  wilderness.  And  herein  is  our  decision: 
We  commit  the  Narragansett  to  thy  justice,  since 
it  is  evident  that  while  he  is  at  large,  neither  thou, 
who  art  a  feeble  prop  to  the  church  in  these  re 
gions,  nor  we,  who  are  its  humble  and  unworthy 
servitors,  are  safe.  Take  him,  then,  and  deal  with 
him  according  to  thy  wisdom.  We  place  limits  to 
thy  power,  in  only  two  things.  It  is  not  meet  that 
any  born  of  humanity,  and  having  human  sensibili 
ties,  should  suffer  more  in  the  flesh  than  may  be 
necessary  to  the  ends  of  duty ;  we  therefore  decree 
that  thy  captive  shall  not  die  by  torture ;  and,  for 
the  better  security  of  this  our  charitable  decision, 
two  of  our  number  shall  accompany  thee  and  him 
to  the  place  of  execution ;  it  being  always  supposed, 
it  is  thy  intention  to  inflict  the  pains  of  death. 
Another  condition  of  this  concession  to  a  foreordered 
necessity,  is,  that  a  Christian  minister  may  be  at 
hand,  in  order  that  the  sufferer  may  depart  with 
the  prayers  of  one  accustomed  to  lift  his  voice  in 
petitions  to  the  footstool  of  the  Almighty." 

The  Mohegan  chief  heard  this  sentence  with  deep 
attention.  When  he  found  he  was  to  be  denied  the 
satisfaction  of  proving,  or  perhaps  of  overcoming, 
the  resolution  of  his  enemy,  a  deep  cloud  passed 
across  his  swarthy  visage.  But  the  strength  of  his 
tribe  had  long  been  broken,  and  to  resist  would 
have  been  as  unprofitable  as  to  repine  would  have 
been  unseemly.  The  conditions  were  therefore  ac 
cepted,  and  preparations  were  accordingly  made 
among  the  Indians  to  proceed  to  judgment. 

These  people  had  few  contradictory  principles  to 
appease,  and  no  subtleties  to  distract  their  decision. 
Direct,  fearless,  Mid  simple  in  all  their  practices, 
they  did  little  more  than  gather  the  voices  of  the. 


454  THE  WEPT 

chiefs,  and  acquaint  their  captive  with  the  result. 
They  knew  that  fortune  had  thrown  an  implacable 
enemy  into  their  hands,  and  they  believed  that  self- 
preservation  demanded  his  life.  To  them  it  mattered 
little  whether  he  had  arrows  in  his  hands,  or  had 
yielded  himself  an  unarmed  prisoner.  He  knew  the 
risk  he  ran  in  submitting,  and  he  had  probably  con 
sulted  his  own  character,  rather  than  their  benefit, 
in  throwing  away  his  arms.  They  therefore  pro 
nounced  the  judgment  of  death  against  their  captive 
merely  respecting  the  decree  of  their  white  allies, 
which  had  commanded  them  to  spare  the  torture. 

So  soon  as  this  determination  was  known,  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Colony  hastened  away  from 
the  spot  with  consciences  that  required  some  aid 
from  the  stimulus  of  their  subtle  doctrines,  in  order 
to  render  them  quiet.  They  were,  however,  in 
genious  casuists ;  and  as  they  hurried  along  their 
return  path,  most  of  the  party  were  satisfied  that 
they  had  rather  manifested  a  merciful  interposition, 
than  exercised  any  act  of  positive  cruelty. 

During  the  two  or  three  hours  which  had  passed 
in  these  solemn  and  usual  preparations,  Conanchet 
was  seated  on  a  rock,  a  close  but  apparently  an  un 
moved  spectator  of  all  that  passed.  His  eye  was 
mild,  and  at  times  melancholy;  but  its  brightness 
and  its  steadiness  remained  unimpaired.  When  his 
sentence  was  announced,  it  exhibited  no  change; 
and  he  saw  all  the  pale-men  depart,  with  the  calm 
ness  he  had  maintained  throughout.  It  was  only  as 
Uncas,  attended  by  the  body  of  his  party  and  the 
two  white  superintendents  who  had  been  left,  ap 
proached,  that  his  spirit  seemed  to  awaken. 

"  My  people  have  said  that  there  shall  be  no  more 
wolves  in  the  woods,"  said  Uncas ;  "  and  they  have 
commanded  our  young  men  to  slay  the  hungriest  of 
them  all." 

"  It  is  well  !'•  coldly  returned  the  other 


OF    WISH-TON-W18H.  455 

A  gleaming  of  admiration,   and  perhaps  of  hu 
manity,  came  over  the  grim  countenance  of  Uncas, 
as  he  gazed  at  the  repose  which  reigned  in  the  firm 
features  of  his  victim.    For  an  instant,  his  purpose 
wavered. 

"  The  Mohicans  are  a  great  tribe !"  he  added  ; 
"and  the  race  of  Uncas  is  getting  few.  We  will 
paint  our  brother  so  that  the  lying  Narragansetts 
shall  not  know  him,  and  he  will  be  a  warrior  on  the 
main  land." 

This  relenting  of  his  enemy  had  a  corresponding 
effect  on  the  generous  temper  of  Conanchet.  The 
lofty  pride  deserted  his  eye,  and  his  look  became 
milder  and  more  human.  For  a  minute,  intense 
thought  brooded  around  his  brow ;  the  firm  muscles 
of  his  mouth  played  a  little,  though  scarcely  enough 
to  be  seen,  and  then  he  spoke. 

"Mohican,"  he  said,  "why  should  your  young 
men  be  in  a  hurry  ?  My  scalp  will  be  the  scalp  of 
a  Great  Chief  to-morrow.  They  will  not  take  two, 
should  they  strike  their  prisoner  now." 

"  Hath  Conanchet  forgotten  any  thing,  that  he  is 
not  ready  ?" 

"Sachem,    he    is    always    ready — But" he 

paused,  and  spoke  in  tones  that  faltered, — "does 
a  Mohican  live  alone  ?" 

"  How  many  suns  doth  the  Narragansett  ask  V' 

"One:  when  the  shadow  of  that  pine  points 
towards  the  brook,  Conanchet  will  be  ready.  He 
will  then  stand  in  the  shade,  with  naked  hands." 

"  Go,"  said  Uncas,  with  dignity ;  "  I  have  heard 
the  words  of  a  Sagamore." 

Conanchet  turned,  and  passing  swiftly  through 
the  silent  crowd,  his  person  was  soon  lost  in  the 
surrounding  forest. 


456  THE    WEPT 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


"  Therefore,  lay  bare  your  bosom." 

MERCHANT  of  VENICE. 


THE  night  that  succeeded  was  wild  and  melan 
choly.  The  moon  was  nearly  full,  but  its  place  in 
the  heavens  was  only  seen,  as  the  masses  of  vapor 
which  drove  through  the  air  occasionally  opened, 
Buffering  short  gleams  of  fitful  light  to  fall  on  the 
scene  helow.  A  south-western  wind  rather  moaned 
than  sighed  through  the  forest,  and  there  were 
moments  when  its  freshness  increased,  till  every  leaf 
seemed  a  tongue,  and  each  low  plant  appeared  to 
be  endowed  with  the  gift  of  speech.  With  the  ex 
ception  of  these  imposing  and  not  unpleasing  natural 
sounds,  there  was  a  solemn  quiet  in  and  about  the 
village  of  the  Wish-Ton-Wish.  An  hour  before  the 
moment  when  we  resume  the  action  of  the  legend, 
the  sun  had  settled  into  the  neighboring  forest,  and 
most  of  its  simple  and  laborious  inhabitants  had 
already  sought  their  rest. 

The  lights  however  still  shone  through  many  of 
the  windows  of  the  "  Heathcote  house,"  as,  in  the 
language  of  the  country,  the  dwelling  of  the  Puritan 
•  was  termed.  There  was  the  usual  stirring  industry 
in  and  about  the  offices,  and  the  ordinary  calm  was 
reigning  in  the  superior  parts  of  the  habitation.  A 
solitary  man  was  to  be  seen  on  its  piazza.  It  was 
young  Mark  Heathcote,  who  paced  the  long  and 
narrow  gallery,  as  if  impatient  of  some  interruption 
to  his  wishes. 

The  uneasiness  of  the  young  man  was  of  short 
continuance ;  for,  ere  he  had  been  many  minutes  <it 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  457 

his  post,  a  door  opened,  and  two  light  and  timid 
forms  glided  out  of  the  house. 

"  Thou  hast  not  come  alone,  Martha,"  said  the 
youth,  half-displeased.  "  I  told  thee  that  the  matter 
I  had  to  say  was  for  thine  own  ear." 

"  It  is  our  Ruth.  Thou  knowest,  Mark,  that  she 
may  not  be  Jeft  alone,  for  we  fear  her  return  to  the 
forest.  She  is  like  some  ill-tamed  fawn,  that  would 
be  apt  to  leap  away  at  the  first  well-known  sound 
from  the  woods.  Even  now,  I  fear  that  we  are  too 
much  asunder. 

"Fear  nothing;  my  sister  fondles  her  infant,  and  she 
thinkcth  not  of  flight ;  thou  seest  I  am  here  to  inter 
cept  her,  were  such  her  intention.  Now  speak  with 
candor,  Martha,  and  say  if  thou  meanest  in  sincerity 
that  the  visits  of  the  Hartford  gallant  were  less  to 
thy  liking  than  most  of  thy  friends  have  believed?" 

"  What  I  have  said  cannot  be  recalled." 

"  Still  it  may  be  repented  of." 

"  I  do  not  number  the  dislike  I  may  feel  for  the 
young  man  among  my  failings.  I  am  too  happy, 
here,  in  this  family,  to  wish  to  quit  it.  And  now  that 

our  sister there  is  one  speaking  to  her  at  this 

moment,  Mark !" 

"  'Tis  only  the  innocent,"  returned  the  young  man, 
glancing  his  eye  to  the  other  end  of  the  piazza. 
"They  confer  often  together.  Whittal  hath  just 
come  in  from  the  woods,  whither  he  is  much  inclined 
to  pass  an  hour  or  two,  each  evening.  Thou  wast 
saying  that  now  we  have  our  sister — ?" 

"  I  feel  less  desire  to  change  my  abode." 

"  Then  why  not  stay  with  us  for  ever,  Martha?" 

"  Hist !"  interrupted  his  companion,  who,  though 
conscious  of  what  she  was  about  to  listen  to,  shrunk, 
with  the  waywardness  of  human  nature,  from  the 
very  declaration  she  most  wished  to  hear,  "  hist — 
there  was  a  movement.  Ah !  our  Ruth  and  Whittal 
are  fled !" 

39 


458  THE    WEPT 

"  They  seek  some  amusement  for  the  babe — they 
are  near  the  out-buildings.  Then  why  not  accept  a 
right  to  remain  for  ever " 

"  It  may  not  be,  Mark,"  cried  the  girl  wresting 
her  hand  from  his  grasp ;  "  they  are  fled !" 

Mark  reluctantly  released  his  hold,  and  followed 
to  the  spot  where  his  sister  had  been  sitting.  She 
was,  in  truth,  gone;  though  some  minutes  passed 
before  even  Martha  seriously  believed  that  she  had 
disappeared  without  an  intention  of  returning.  The 
agitation  of  both  rendered  the  search  ill-directed 
and  uncertain,  and  there  was  perhaps  a  secret  satis 
faction  in  prolonging  their  interview  even  in  this 
vague  manner,  that  prevented  them  for  some  time 
from  giving  the  alarm.  When  that  moment  did  come, 
it  was  too  late.  The  fields  were  examined,  the 
orchards  and  out-houses  thoroughly  searched,  with 
out  any  traces  of  the  fugitives.  It  would  have  been 
useless  to  enter  the  forest  in  the  darkness,  and  all 
that  could  be  done  in  reason,  was  to  set  a  watch 
during  the  night,  and  to  prepare  for  a  more  active 
and  intelligent  pursuit  in  the  morning. 

But,  long  before  the  sun  arose,  the  small  and  mel 
ancholy  party  of  the  fugitives  threaded  the  woods  at 
such  a  distance  from  the  valley,  as  would  have  render 
ed  the  plan  of  the  family  entirely  nugatory.  Conan- 
chet  had  led  the  way  over  a  thousand  forest  knolls, 
across  water-courses,  and  through  dark  glens,  fol 
lowed  by  his  silent  partner,  with  an  industry  that 
would  have  baffled  the  zeal  of  even  those  from 
whom  they  fled.  Whittal  Ring,  bearing  the  infant  on 
his  back,  trudged  with  unwearied  step  in  the  rear. 
Hours  had  passed  in  this  manner,  and  not  a  syllable 
had  been  uttered  by  either  of  the  three.  Once  or 
twice,  they  had  stopped  at  some  spot  where  water, 
limpid  as  the  air,  gushed  from  the  rocks;  and,  drink 
ing  from  the  hollows  of  their  hands,  the  march  had 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  459 

been  resumed  with  the  same  speechless  industry  as 
before. 

At  length  Conanchet  paused.  He  studied  the  po 
sition  of  the  sun,  gravely,  and  took  a  long  and  anx 
ious  look  at  the  signs  of  the  forest,  in  order  that  he 
might  not  be  deceived  in  its  quarter.  To  an  unprac 
tised  eye,  the  arches  of  the  trees,  the  leaf-covered 
earth,  and  the  mouldering  logs,  would  have  seemed 
everywhere  the  same.  But  it  was  not  easy  to  de 
ceive  one  so  trained  in  the  woods.  Satisfied  equally 
with  the  progress  he  had  made,  and  with  the  hour, 
the  chief  signed  to  his  two  companions  to  place 
themselves  at  his  side,  and  took  a  seat  on  a  low  shelf 
of  rock,  that  thrust  its  naked  head  out  of  the  side 
of  a  hill. 

For  many  minutes,  after  all  \vere  seated,  no  one 
broke  the  silence.  The  eye  of  Narra-mattah  sought 
the  countenance  of  her  husband,  as  the  eye  of  wo 
man  seeks  instruction  from  the  expression  of  fea 
tures  that  she  has  been  taught  to  revere ;  but  still 
she  spoke  not.  The  innocent  laid  the  patient  babe 
at  the  feet  of  its  mother,  and  imitated  her  reserve. 

"  Is  the  air  of  the  woods  pleasant  to  the  Honey 
suckle,  after  living  in  the  wigwam  of  her  people  ?" 
asked  Conanchet,  breaking  the  long  silence.  "Can  a 
flower,  which  blossomed  in  the  sun,  like  the  shade?" 

"  A  woman  of  the  Narragansetts  is  happiest  in 
the  lodge  of  her  husband." 

The  eye  of  the  chief  met  her  confiding  look  with 
affection,  and  then  it  fell,  mild  and  full  of  kindness, 
on  the  features  of  the  infant  that  lay  at  their  feet. 
There  was  a  minute,  during  which  an  expression  of 
bitter  melancholy  gathered  about  his  brow. 

"  The  Spirit  that  made  the  earth,"  he  continued, 
"  is  very  cunning.  He  has  known  where  to  put  the 
hemlock,  and  where  the  oak  should  grow.  He  has 
left  the  moose  and  the  deer  to  the  Indian  hunter, 
and  he  has  given  the  horse  and  the  ox  to  a  Pale-face, 


4GO  THE    WEPT 

Each  tribe  hath  its  hunting-grounds,  and  its  game. 
The  Narragansetts  know  the  taste  of  a  clam,  while 
the  Mohawks  eat  the  berries  of  the  mountains. 
Thou  hast  seen  the  bright  bow  which  shines  in  the 
skies,  Narra-mattah,  and  knowest  how  one  color  is 
mixed  with  another,  like  paint  on  a  warrior's  face. 
The  leaf  of  the  hemlock  is  like  the  leaf  of  the 
sumach  ;  the  ash,  the  chestnut ;  the  chestnut,  the 
linden ;  and  the  linden,  the  broad-leaved  tree  which 
bears  the  red  fruit,  in  the  clearing  of  the  Yengeese; 
but  the  tree  of  the  red  fruit  is  little  like  the  hem 
lock  !  Conanchet  is  a  tall  and  straight  hemlock,  and 
the  father  of  Narra-mattah  is  a  tree  of  the  clear 
ing,  that  bears  the  red  fruit.  The  Great  Spirit  was 
angry  when  they  grew  together." 

The  sensitive  wife  understood  but  too  well  the 
current  of  the  chief's  thoughts.  Suppressing  the  pain 
she  felt,  however,  she  answered  with  the  readiness 
of  a  woman  whose  imagination  was  quickened  by 
her  affections. 

"  What  Conanchet  hath  said  is  true.  But  the 
Yengeese  have  put  the  apple  of  their  own  land  on 
the  thorn  of  our  woods,  and  the  fruit  is  good !" 

"  It  is  like  that  boy,"  said  the  chief,  pointing  to 
his  son;  " neither  red  nor  pale.  No,  Narra-mattah; 
•what  the  Great  Spirit  hath  commanded,  even  a 
Sachem  must  do." 

"  And  doth  Conanchet  say  this  fruit  is  not  good?" 
asked  his  wife,  lifting  the  smiling  boy  with  a  mother's 
joy  before  his  eyes. 

The  heart  of  the  warrior  was  touched.  Bending 
his  head,  he  kissed  the  babe,  with  such  fondness  at 
parents  less  stern  are  wont  to  exhibit.  For  a  mo 
ment,  he  appeared  to  have  satisfaction  in  gazing  at 
the  promise  of  the  child.  But,  as  he  raised  his  head, 
his  eye  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  sun,  and  the  whole 
expression  of  his  countenance  changed.  Motioning 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  461 

to  his  wife  to  replace  the  infant  on  the  earth,  he 
turned  to  her  with  solemnity,  and  continued — 

"  Let  the  tongue  of  ISTarra-mattah  speak  without 
fear.  She  hath  been  in  the  lodges  of  her  father,  and 
hath  tasted  of  their  plenty.  Is  her  heart  glad?" 

The  young  wife  paused.  The  question  brought 
with  it  a  sudden  recollection  of  all  those  reviving 
sensations,  of  that  tender  solicitude,  and  of  those 
soothing  sympathies,  of  which  she  had  so  lately  been 
the  subject.  But  these  feelings  soon  vanished ;  for, 
without  daring  to  lift  her  eyes  to  meet  the  attentive 
and  anxious  gaze  of  the  chief,  she  said  firmly, 
though  with  a  voice  that  was  subdued  by  diffidence — 

"  Narra-mattah  is  a  wife." 

"  Then  will  she  listen  to  the  words  of  her  hus 
band.  Conanchet  is  a  chief  no  longer.  He  is  a 
prisoner  of  the  Mohicans.  Uncas  waits  for  him  in 
the  woods !" 

Notwithstanding  the  recent  declaration  of  the 
young  wife,  she  heard  of  this  calamity  with  little 
of  the  calmness  of  an  Indian  woman.  At  first,  it 
seemed  as  if  her  senses  refused  to  comprehend  the 
meaning  of  the  words.  Wonder,  doubt,  horror,  and 
fearful  certainty,  each  in  its  turn  prevailed ;  for 
she  was  too  well  schooled  in  all  the  usages  and  opin 
ions  of  the  people  with  whom  she  dwelt,  not  to  un 
derstand  the  jeopardy  in  which  her  husband  was 
placed. 

"  The  Sachem  of  the  Narragansetts  a  prisoner 
of  Mohican  Uncas !"  she  repeated  in  a  low  tone, 
as  if  the  sound  of  her  voice  were  necessary  to  dis 
pel  some  horrible  illusion.  "  No !  Uncas  is  not  a 
warrior  to  strike  Conanchet !" 

"  Hear  my  words,"  said  the  chief,  touching  the 

shoulder  of  his  wife,  as  one  arouses  a  friend  from 

his  slumbers.    "  There  is  a  Pale-face  in  these  woods 

who  is  a  burrowing  fox.    He  hides  his  head  from 

•39* 


462  THE    WEPT 

the  Yengeese.  When  his  people  were  on  the  trail, 
barking  like  hungry  wolves,  this  man  trusted  to  a 
Sagamore.  It  was  a  swift  chase,  and  my  father  is 
getting  very  old.  He  went  up  a  young  hickory, 
like  a  bear,  and  Conanchet  led  off  the  lying  tribe. 
But  he  is  not  a  moose.  His  legs  cannot  go  like  run 
ning  water,  for  ever !" 

"  And  why  did  the  great  Narragansett  give  his 
life  for  a  stranger?" 

"  The  man  is  a  brave ;"  returned  the  Sachem, 
proudly :  "  he  took  the  scalp  of  a  Sagamore  !" 

Again  Narra-mattah  was  silent.  She  brooded,  in 
nearly  stupid  amazement,  on  the  frightful  truth. 

"  The  Great  Spirit  sees  that  the  man  and  his  wife 
are  of  different  tribes,"  she  at  length  ventured  to 
rejoin.  "  He  wishes  them  to  become  the  same  peo 
ple.  Let  Conanchet  quit  the  woods,  and  go  into  the 
clearings  with  the  mother  of  his  boy.  Her  white 
father  will  be  glad,  and  Mohican  Uncas  will  not 
dare  to  follow." 

"  Woman,  I  am  a  Sachem  and  a  warrior  among 
my  people !" 

There  was  a  severe  and  cold  displeasure  in  the 
voice  of  Conanchet,  that  his  companion  had  never 
before  heard.  He  spoke  in  the  manner  of  a  chief 
to  his  woman,  rather  than  with  that  manly  softness 
with  which  he  had  been  accustomed  to  address  the 
scion  of  the  Pale-faces.  The  words  came  over  her 
heart  like  a  withering  chill,  and  affliction  kept  her 
mute.  The  chief  himself  sate  a  moment  longer  in 
a  stern  calmness,  and  then  rising  in  displeasure,  he 
pointed  to  the  sun,  and  beckoned  to  his  companions 
to  proceed.  In  a  time  that  appeared  to  the  throb 
bing  heart  of  her  who  followed  his  swift  footsteps, 
but  a  moment,  they  had  turned  a  little  eminence, 
and,  in  another  minute,  they  stood  in  the  presence 
of  a  party  that  evidently  awaited  their  coining- 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  463 

This  grave  group  consisted  only  of  Uncas,  two  of 
his  fiercest-looking  and  most  athletic  warriors,  the 
divine,  and  Eben  Dudley. 

Advancing  rapidly  to  the  spot  where  his  enemy 
stood,  Conanchet  took  his  post  at  the  foot  of  the  fatal 
tree.  Pointing  to  the  shadow,  which  had  not  yet 
turned  towards  the  east,  he  folded  his  arms  on  his 
naked  hosom,  and  assumed  an  air  of  haughty  un 
concern.  These  movements  were  made  in  the  midst 
of  a  profound  stillness. 

Disappointment,  unwilling  admiration,  and  dis 
trust,  all  struggled  through  the  mask  of  practised 
composure,  in  the  dark  countenance  of  Uncas.  He 
regarded  his  long-hated  and  terrible  foe,  with  an 
eye  that  seemed  willing  to  detect  some  lurking  signs 
of  weakness.  It  would  not  have  been  easy  to  say, 
whether  he  most  felt  respect,  or  regret,  at  the  faith 
of  the  Narragansett.  Accompanied  by  his  two  grim 
warriors,  the  chief  examined  the  position  of  the 
shadow  with  critical  minuteness,  and  when  there  no 
longer  existed  a  pretext  for  affecting  to  doubt  the 
punctuality  of  their  captive,  a  deep  ejaculation  of 
assent  issued  from  the  chest  of  each.  Like  some 
wary  judge,  whose  justice  is  fettered  by  legal  pre 
cedents,  as  if  satisfied  there  was  no  flaw  in  the  pro 
ceedings,  the  Mohegan  then  signed  to  the  white  men 
to  draw  near. 

"  Man  of  a  wild  and  unreclaimed  nature !"  com 
menced  Meek  Wolfe,  in  his  usual  admonitory  and 
ascetic  tones,  "  the  hour  of  thy  existence  draws  to 
its  end!  Judgment  hath  had  rule;  thou  hast  been 
weighed  in  the  balances,  and  art  found  wanting. 
But  Christian  charity  is  never  weary.  We  may  not 
resist  the  ordinances  of  Providence,  but  we  may 
temper  the  blow  to  the  offender.  That  thou  art 
here  to  die,  is  a  mandate  decreed  in  equity,  and 
rendered  awful  by  mystery;  but  further,  subrnis- 


464  THE    WEPT 

sion  to  the  will  of  Heaven  doth  not  exact.  Heathen, 
thou  hast  a  soul,  and  it  is  about  to  leave  its  earthly 
tenement  for  the  unknown  world " 

Until  now,  the  captive  had  listened  with  the 
courtesy  of  a  savage  when  unexcited.  He  had 
even  gazed  at  the  quiet  enthusiasm,  and  singularly 
contradictory  passions,  that  shone  in  the  deep  lines 
of  the  speaker's  face,  with  some  such  reverence  as 
he  might  have  manifested  at  an  exhibition  of  one 
of  the  pretended  revelations  of  a  prophet  of  his 
tribe.  But  when  the  divine  came  to  touch  upon 
his  condition  after  death,  his  mind  received  a  clear, 
and  to  him  an  unerring,  clue  to  the  truth.  Laying 
a  finger  suddenly  on  the  shoulder  of  Meek,  he  in 
terrupted  him,  by  saying — 

"  My  father  forgets  that  the  skin  of  his  son  is  red 
The  path  to  the  happy  hunting-grounds  of  just  In 
dians  lies  before  him." 

"  Heathen,  in  thy  words  hath  the  Master  Spirit 
of  Delusion  and  Sin  uttered  his  blasphemies !" 

"  Hist ! — Did  my  father  see  that  which  stirred  the 
bush?" 

"  It  was  the  viewless  wind,  idolatrous  and  idle- 
minded  infant,  in  the  form  of  adult  man !" 

"  And  yet  my  father  speaks  to  it,"  returned  the 
Indian,  with  the  grave  but  cutting  sarcasm  of  his 
people.  "  See,"  he  added,  haughtily,  and  even 
with  ferocity ;  "  the  shadow  hath  passed  the  root 
of  the  tree.  Let  the  cunning  man  of  the  Pale-faces 
stand  aside  ;  a  Sachem  is  ready  to  die!" 

Meek  groaned  audibly,  and  in  real  sorrow ;  for, 
notwithstanding  the  veil  which  exalted  theories  and 
doctrinal  subtleties  had  drawn  before  his  judgment, 
the  charities  of  the  man  were  grounded  in  truth. 
Bowing  to  what  he  believed  to  be  a  mysterious  dis 
pensation  of  the  will  of  Heaven,  he  withdrew  to  a 
short  distance,  and,  kneeling  on  a  rock,  his  voice 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH. 

was  heard,  during  the  remainder  of  the  ceremonies, 
lifting  its  tones  in  fervent  prayer  for  the  soul  of  the 
condemned. 

The  divine  had  no  sooner  quitted  the  place,  than 
Uncas  motioned  to  Dudley  to  approach.  Though 
the  nature  of  the  borderer  was  essentially  honest 
and  kind,  he  was,  in  opinions  and  prejudices,  but  a 
creature  of  the  times.  If  he  had  assented  to  the 
judgment  which  committed  the  captive  to  the  mercy 
of  his  implacable  enemies,  he  had  the  merit  of 
having  suggested  the  expedient  that  was  to  protect 
the  sufferer  from  those  refinements  in  cruelty  which 
the  savages  were  known  to  be  too  ready  to  inflict. 
He  had  even  volunteered  to  be  one  of  the  agents 
to  enforce  his  own  expedient,  though,  in  so  doing,  he 
had  committed  no  little  violence  to  his  natural  in 
clinations.  The  reader  will  therefore  judge  of  his 
conduct,  in  this  particular,  with  the  degree  of  lenity 
that  a  right  consideration  of  the  condition  of  the 
country  and  of  the  usages  of  the  age  may  require. 
There  was  even  a  relenting  and  a  yielding  of  pur 
pose  in  the  countenance  of  this  witness  of  the  scene, 
that  was  favorable  to  the  safety  of  the  captive,  as 
he  now  spoke.  His  address  was  first  to  Uncas. 

"  A  happy  fortune,  Mohegan,  something  aided  by 
the  power  of  the  white  men,  hath  put  this  Narra- 
gansett  into  thy  hands,"  he  said.  "  It  is  certain  that 
the  Commissioners  of  the  Colony  have  consented  that 
thou  shouldst  exercise  thy  will  on  his  life ;  but  there 
is  a  voice  in  the  breast  of  every  human  being,  which 
should  be  stronger  than  the  voice  of  revenge,  and 
that  is  the  voice  of  mercy.  It  is  not  yet  too  late  to 
hearken  to  it.  Take  the  promise  of  the  Narragansett 
for  his  faith — take  more,  take  a  hostage  in  this  child, 
which  with  its  mother  shall  be  guarded  among  the 
English,  and  let  the  prisoner  go." 

"  My  brother  asketh  with  a  big  mind  1"  said 
Uncas,  drily. 


466  THE    WEPT 

"  I  know  not  how  nor  why  it  is  I  ask  with  this 
earnestness,"  resumed  Dudley,  "  but  there  are  old 
recollections,  and  former  kindnesses,  in  the  face  and 
manner  of  this  Indian !  And  here,  too,  is  one,  in  the 
woman,  that  I  know  is  tied  to  some  of  our  settle 
ments,  with  a  bond  nearer  than  that  of  common 
charity — Mohegan,  I  will  add  a  goodly  gift  of  powder 
and  of  muskets,  if  thou  wilt  listen  to  mercy,  and  take 
the  faith  of  the  Narragansett." 

Uncas  pointed  with  ironical  coldness  to  his  captive, 
as  he  said — 

"  Let  Conanchet  speak !" 

"  Thou  hearest,  Narragansett.  If  the  man  I  begin 
to  suspect  thee  to  be,  thou  knowest  something  of 
the  usages  of  the  whites.  Speak;  wilt  swear  to 
keep  peace  with  the  Mohegans,  and  to  bury  the 
hatchet  in  the  path  between  your  villages?" 

"  The  fire  that  burnt  the  lodges  of  my  people 
turned  the  heart  of  Conanchet  to  stone,"  was  the 
steady  answer. 

"  Then  can  I  do  no  more  than  see  the  treaty  re 
spected,"  returnedDudley,  in  disappointment.  "Thou 
hast  thy  nature,  and  it  will  have  way.  The  Lord 
have  mercy  on  thee,  Indian,  and  render  thee  such 
judgment  as  is  meet  for  one  of  savage  opportunities." 

He  made  a  gesture  to  Uncas  that  he  had  done, 
and  fell  back  a  few  paces  from  the  tree,  his  honest 
features  expressing  all  his  concern,  while  his  eye 
did  not  refuse  to  do  its  duty  by  closely  watching 
each  movement  of  the  adverse  parties.  At  the  same 
instant,  the  grim  attendants  of  the  Mohegan  chief, 
in  obedience  to  a  sign,  took  their  stations  on  each 
side  of  the  captive.  They  evidently  waited  for  the 
last  and  fatal  signal,  to  complete  their  unrelenting 
purpose.  At  this  grave  moment  there  was  a  pause, 
as  if  each  of  the  principal  actors  pondered  serious 
matter  in  his  inmost  mind. 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  467 

*'  The  Narragansett  hath  not  spoken  to  his  wo 
man,"  said  Uncas,  secretly  hoping  that  his  enemy 
might  yet  betray  some  unmanly  weakness,  in  a 
moment  of  so  severe  trial.  "  She  is  near." 

"  I  said  my  heart  was  stone ;"  coldly  returned  the 
Narragansett. 

"  See — the  girl  creepeth  like  a  frightened  fowl 
among  the  leaves.  If  my  brother  Conanchet  will 
look,  he  will  see  his  beloved." 

The  countenance  of  Conanchet  grew  dark,  but 
it  did  not  waver. 

"  We  will  go  among  the  bushes,  if  the  Sachem 
is  afraid  to  speak  to  his  woman  with  the  eyes  of  a 
Mohican  on  him.  A  warrior  is  not  a  curious  girl, 
that  he  wishes  to  see  the  sorrow  of  a  chief!" 

Conanchet  felt,  hurriedly,  for  some  weapon  that 
might  strike  his  enemy  to  the  earth,  and  then  a  low 
murmuring  sound  at  his  elbow  stole  so  softly  on  his 
ear,  as  suddenly  to  divert  the  tempest  of  passion. 

"  Will  not  a  Sachem  look  at  his  boy  ?"  demanded 
the  suppliant.  "  It  is  the  son  of  a  great  warrior ; 
why  is  the  face  of  his  father  so  dark  on  him?" 

Narrah-mattah  had  drawn  near  enough  to  her 
husband,  to  be  within  reach  of  his  hand.  With  ex 
tended  arms  she  held  the  pledge  of  their  former 
happiness  towards  the  chief,  as  if  to  beseech  a  last 
and  kindly  look  of  recognition  and  love. 

"Will  not  the  great  Narragansett  look  at  his 
boy?"  she  repeated,  in  a  voice  that  sounded  like  the 
lowest  notes  of  some  touching  melody.  "Why  is 
his  face  so  dark,  on  a  woman  of  his  tribe  ?" 

Even  the  stern  features  of  the  Mohegan  Sagamore 
showed  that  he  was  touched.  Beckoning  to  his  grim 
attendants  to  move  behind  the  tree,  he  turned  and 
walked  aside,  with  the  noble  air  of  a  savage,  when 
influenced  by  his  better  feelings.  Then  light  shot 
into  the  clouded  countenance  of  Conanchet.  His 


468  THE    WEPT 

eyes  sought  the  face  of  his  stricken  and  grieved 
consort,  who  mourned  less  for  his  danger  than  she 
grieved  for  his  displeasure.  He  received  the  boy 
from  her  hands,  and  studied  his  features  long  and 
intently.  Beckoning  to  Dudley,  who  alone  gazed  on 
the  scene,  he  placed  the  infant  in  his  arms. 

"  See !"  he  said,  pointing  to  the  child ;  "  it  is  a 
blossom  of  the  clearings.  It  will  not  live  in  the 
shade." 

He  then  fastened  a  look  on  his  trembling  partner 
There  was  a  husband's  love  in  the  glance.  "  Flower 
of  the  open  land !"  he  said ;  "  the  Mdnitou  of  thy 
race  will  place  thee  in  the  fields  of  thy  fathers. 
The  sun  will  shine  upon  thee,  and  the  winds  from 
beyond  the  salt  lake  will  blow  the  clouds  into  the 
woods.  A  Just  and  Great  Chief  cannot  shut  his  ear 
to  the  Good  Spirit  of  his  people.  Mine  calls  his  son 
to  hunt  among  the  braves  that  have  gone  on  the 
long  path ;  thine  points  another  way.  Go,  hear  his 
voice,  and  obey.  Let  thy  mind  be  like  a  wide  clear 
ing  ;  let  all  its  shadows  be  next  the  woods ;  let  it 
forget  the  dream  it  dreamt  among  the  trees.  'Tis 
the  will  of  the  Manitou." 

"Conanchet  asketh  much  of  his  wife;  her  sou 
is  only  the  soul  of  a  woman !" 

"  A  woman  of  the  Pale-faces ;  now  let  her  seek 
her  tribe.  Narra-mattah,  thy  people  speak  strange 
traditions.  They  say  that  one  just  man  died  for  all 
colors.  I  know  not.  Conanchet  is  a  child  among 
the  cunning,  and  a  man  with  the  warriors.  If  this 
be  true,  he  will  look  for  his  woman  and  boy  in  the 
happy  hunting-grounds,  and  they  will  come  to  him. 
There  is  no  hunter  of  the  Yengeese  that  can  kill 
so  many  deer.  Let  Narra-mattah  forget  her  chief 
till  that  time,  and  then,  when  she  calls  him  by  name, 
let  her  speak  strong,  for  he  will  be  very  glad  to  hear 
her  voice  again.  Go ;  a  Sagamore  is  about  to  start 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  469 

on  a  long  journey.  He  takes  leave  of  his  wife  with 
a  heavy  spirit.  She  will  put  a  little  flower  of  two 
colors  before  her  eyes,  and  be  happy  in  its  growth. 
Now  let  her  go.  A  Sagamore  is  about  to  die." 

The  attentive  woman  caught  each  slow  and 
measured  syllable,  as  one  trained  in  superstitious 
legends  would  listen  to  the  words  of  an  oracle.  But, 
accustomed  to  obedience  and  bewildered  with  her 
grief,  she  hesitated  no  longer.  The  head  of  Narra- 
mattah  sunk  on  her  bosom,  as  she  left  him,  and  her 
face  was  buried  in  her  robe.  The  step  with  which 
she  passed  Uncas  was  so  light  as  to  be  inaudible ; 
but  when  he  saw  her  tottering  form,  turning  swiftly, 
he  stretched  an  arm  high  in  the  air.  The  terrible 
mutes  just  showed  themselves  from  behind  the  tree, 
and  vanished.  Conanchet  started,  and  it  seemed  as 
if  he  were  about  to  plunge  forward ;  but,  recover 
ing  himself  by  a  desperate  effort,  his  body  sunk 
back  against  the  tree,  and  he  fell  in  the  attitude  of 
a  chief  seated  in  council.  There  was  a  smile  of 
fierce  triumph  on  his  face,  and  his  lips  evidently 
moved.  Uncas  did  not  breathe,  as  he  bent  forward 
to  listen : — 

"  Mohican,  I  die  before  my  heart  is  soft !"  uttered 
firmly,  but  with  a  struggle,  reached  his  ears.  Then 
came  two  long  and  heavy  respirations.  One  was  the 
returning  breath  of  Uncas,  and  the  other  the  dying 
sigh  of  the  last  Sachem  of  the  broken  and  dispersed 
tribe  of  the  Narragansetts. 
40 


470  THE    WEPT 


CHAPTEE  XXXII. 


"  Bach  lonely  scene  shall  thee  restore  ; 
For  thee  the  tear  be  duly  shed : 
Beloved  till  life  could  charm  no  more , 
And  mourn'd  till  pity's  self  be  dead." 

COLLINS. 


AN  hour  later,  and  the  principal  actors  in  the 
foregoing  scene  had  disappeared.  There  remained 
only  the  widowed  Narra-mattah,  with  Dudley,  the 
divine,  and  Whittal  Ring. 

The  body  of  Conanchet  still  continued,  where  he 
had  died,  seated  like  a  chief  in  council.  The  daugh 
ter  of  Content  and  Ruth  had  stolen  to  its  side,  and 
she  had  taken  her  seat,  in  that  species  of  dull  woe, 
which  so  frequently  attends  the  first  moments  of 
any  unexpected  and  overwhelming  affliction.  She 
neither  spoke,  sobbed,  nor  sorrowed  in  any  way  that 
grief  is  wont  to  affect  the  human  system.  The  mind 
seemed  palsied,  though  a  withering  sense  of  the  blow 
was  fearfully  engraven  on  every  lineament  of  her 
eloquent  face.  The  color  had  deserted  her  cheeks, 
the  lips  were  bloodless,  while,  at  moments,  they 
quivered  convulsively,  like  the  tremulous  movement 
of  the  sleeping  infant ;  and,  at  long  intervals,  her 
bosom  heaved,  as  if  the  spirit  within  struggled  heavi 
ly  to  escape  from  its  earthly  prison.  The  child  lay 
unheeded  at  her  side,  and  Whittal  Ring  had  placed 
himself  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  corpse. 

The  two  agents,  appointed  by  the  Colony  to  wit 
ness  the  death  of  Conanchet,  stood  near,  gazing 
mournfully  on  the  piteous  spectacle.  The  instant 
the  spirit  of  the  condemned  man  had  fled,  the  pray- 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  471 

ers  of  the  divine  had  ceased,  for  he  believed  that 
then  the  soul  had  gone  to  judgment.  But  there  was 
more  of  human  charity,  and  less  of  that  exaggerated 
severity  in  his  aspect,  than  was  ordinarily  seated  in 
the  deep  lines  of  his  austere  countenance.  Now  thai 
the  deed  was  done,  and  the  excitement  of  his  ex 
alted  theories  had  given  way  to  the  more  positive 
appearance  of  the  result,  he  might  even  have  mo 
ments  of  harassing  doubts  concerning  the  lawful 
ness  of  an  act  that  he  had  hitherto  veiled  under  the 
forms  of  a  legal  and  necessary  execution  of  justice. 
The  mind  of  Eben  Dudley  vacillated  with  none  of 
the  subtleties  of  doctrine  or  of  law.  As  there  had 
been  less  exaggeration  in  his  original  views  of  the 
necessity  of  the  proceeding,  so  was  there  more  steadi 
ness  in  his  contemplation  of  its  fulfilment.  Feelings, 
they  might  be  termed  emotions,  of  a  different  na 
ture  troubled  the  breast  of  this  resolute  but  justly- 
disposed  borderer. 

"  This  hath  been  a  melancholy  visitation  of  ne 
cessity,  and  a  severe  manifestation  of  the  fore- 
ordering  will,"  said  the  Ensign,  as  he  gazed  at  the 
sad  spectacle  before  him.  "  Father  and  son  have 
both  died,  as  it  were,  in  my  presence,  and  both  have 
departed  for  the  world  of  spirits,  in  a  manner  to 
prove  the  inscrutableness  of  Providence.  But  dost 
not  see,  here,  in  the  face  of  her  who  looketh  like  a 
form  of  stone,  traces  of  a  countenance  that  is  fa 
miliar?" 

"  Thou  hast  allusion  to  the  consort  of  Captain 
Content  Heathcote?" 

"  Truly,  to  her  only.  Thou  art  not,  reverend  sir, 
of  sufficient  residence  at  the  Wish-Ton-Wish,  to  re 
member  tha  t  lady  in  her  youthfulness.  But  to  me,  the 
hour  when  the  Captain  led  his  followers  into  the  wil 
derness,  seemeth  but  as  a  morning  of  the  past  season. 
I  was  then  active  in  limb,  and  something  idle  in  re- 


472  THE    WEPT 

flection  and  discourse ;  it  was  in  that  journey,  that 
the  woman  who  is  now  the  mother  of  my  children 
and  I  first  made  acquaintance.  I  have  seen  many 
comely  females  in  my  time,  but  never  did  I  look  on 
one  so  pleasant  to  the  eye,  as  was  the  consort  of  the 
Captain  until  the  night  of  the  burning.  Thou  hast 
often  heard  the  loss  she  then  met,  and,  from  that 
hour,  her  beauty  hath  been  that  of  the  October  leaf, 
rather  than  its  loveliness  in  the  season  of  fertility. 
Now  look  on  the  face  of  this  mourner,  and  say  if 
there  be  not  here  such  an  image  as  the  water  re 
flects  from  the  overhanging  bush.  In  verity,  I  could 
believe  it  was  the  sorrowing  eye  and  bereaved  look 
of  the  mother  herself!" 

"  Grief  hath  struck  its  blow  heavily  on  this  unof 
fending  victim,"  uttered  Meek,  with  great  and  sub 
dued  softness  in  his  manner.  "  The  voice  of  peti 
tion  must  be  raised  in  her  behalf,  or " 

"  Hist ! — there  are  some  in  the  forest ;  I  hear  the 
rustling  of  leaves !" 

"  The  voice  of  him,  who  made  the  earth,  whis 
pereth  in  the  winds ;  his  breath  is  the  movement  of 
nature !" 

"Here  are  living  men! — But,  happily,  the  meet 
ing  is  friendly,  and  there  will  be  no  further  occasion 
for  strife.  The  heart  of  a  father  is  sure  as  ready 
eye  and  swift  foot." 

Dudley  suffered  his  musket  to  fall  at  his  side,  and 
both  he  and  his  companion  stood  in  attitudes  of  de 
cent  composure,  to  await  the  arrival  of  those  who 
approached.  The  party  that  drew  near,  arrived 
on  the  side  of  the  tree  opposite  to  that  on  which  the 
death  of  Conanchet  had  occurred.  The  enormous 
trunk  and  swelling  roots  of  the  pine  concealed  the 
group  at  its  feet,  but  the  persons  of  Meek  and  the 
Ensign  were  soon  observed.  The  instant  they  were 
discovered,  he  who  led  the  new-comers  bent  his 
footsteps  in  that  direction. 


OF   WISH-TON-WISH.  473 

"  If,  as  thou  hast  supposed,  the  Narragansett  hath 
again  led  her  thou  hast  so  long  mourned  into  the 
forest,"  said  Submission,  who  acted  as  guide  to  those 
who  followed,  "  here  are  we,  at  no  great  distance 
from  the  place  of  his  resort.  It  was  near  yon  rock 
that  he  gave  the  meeting  with  the  bloody-minded 
Philip,  and  the  place  where  I  received  the  boon  of 
an  useless  and  much-afflicted  life  from  his  care,  is 
within  the  bosom  of  that  thicket  which  borders  the 
brook.  This  minister  of  the  Lord,  and  our  stout 
friend  the  Ensign,  may  have  further  matter  to  tell 
us  of  his  movements." 

The  speaker  had  stopped  within  a  short  distance 
of  the  two  he  named,  but  still  on  the  side  of  the 
tree  opposite  to  that  where  the  body  lay.  He  had 
addressed  his  words  to  Content,  who  also  halted  to 
await  the  arrival  of  Ruth,  who  came  in  the  rear, 
supported  by  her  son,  and  attended  by  Faith  and 
the  physician,  all  equipped  like  persons  engaged  in 
a  search  through  the  forest.  A  mother's  heart  had 
sustained  the  feeble  woman  for  many  a  weary  mile, 
but  her  steps  had  begun  to  drag,  shortly  before  they 
so  happily  fell  upon  the  signs  of  human  beings,  near 
the  spot  where  they  now  met  the  two  agents  of  the 
Colony. 

Notwithstanding  the  deep  interest  which  belonged 
to  the  respective  pursuits  of  the  individuals  who 
composed  these  two  parties,  the  interview  was  open 
ed  with  no  lively  signs  of  feeling  on  either  side. 
To  them  a  journey  in  the  forest  possessed  no  novel 
ties,  and  after  traversing  its  mazes  for  a  day,  the 
newly-arrived  encountered  their  friends,  as  men 
meet  on  more  beaten  tracks,  in  countries  where 
roads  unavoidably  lead  them  to  cross  each  others 
paths.  Even  the  appearance  of  Submission  in  front 
of  the  travellers,  elicited  no  marks  of  surprise  in 
the  unmoved  features  of  those  who  witnessed  his 
40  * 


474  THE    WEPT 

approach.  Indeed,  the  mutual  composure  of  one 
who  had  so  long  concealed  his  person,  and  of  those 
who  had  more  than  once  seen  him  in  striking  and 
mysterious  situations,  might  well  justify  a  belief 
that  the  secret  of  his  presence  near  the  valley  had 
not  been  confined  to  the  family  of  the  Heathcotes. 
This  fact  is  rendered  still  more  probable,  by  the  re 
collection  of  the  honesty  of  Dudley,  and  of  the  pro 
fessional  characters  of  the  two  others. 

"  We  are  on  the  trail  of  one  fled,  as  the  truant 
fawn  seeketh  again  the  covers  of  the  woods,"  said 
Content.  "  Our  hunt  was  uncertain,  and  it  might 
have  been  vain,  so  many  feet  have  lately  crossed 
the  forest,  were  it  not  that  Providence  hath  cast 
our  route  on  that  of  our  friend,  here,  who  hath  had 
reason  to  know  the  probable  situation  of  the  Indian 
camp.  Hast  seen  aught  of  the  Sachem  of  the  Nar- 
ragansetts,  Dudley  ?  and  where  are  those  thou  led'st 
against  the  subtle  Philip  ?  That  thou  fell  upon  his 
party,  we  have  heard;  though  further  than  thy 
general  success,  we  have  yet  to  learn.  The  Wam- 
panoag  escaped  thee?" 

"  The  wicked  agencies  that  back  him  in  his  de 
signs,  profited  the  savage  in  his  extremity.  Else 
would  his  fate  have  been  that  which  I  fear  a  far 
worthier  spirit  hath  been  doomed  to  suffer." 

"Of  whom  dost  speak? — but  it  mattereth  not. 
We  seek  our  child ;  she,  whom  thou  hast  known, 
and  whom  thou  hast  so  lately  seen,  hath  again  left 
us.  We  seek  her  in  the  camp  of  him  who  hath 
been  to  her — Dudley,  hast  seen  aught  of  the  Nar- 
ragansett  Sachem?" 

The  Ensign  looked  at  Ruth,  as  he  had  once  be 
fore  been  seen  to  gaze  on  the  sorrowing  .features 
of  the  woman ;  but  he  spoke  not  Meek  folded  his 
arms  on  his  breast,  and  seemed  to  pray  inwardly. 
There  was,  however,  one  who  broke  the  silence, 
though  his  tones  were  low  and  menacing. 


OF    WISII-TON-WISH.  475 

"  It  was  a  bloody  deed  !"  muttered  the  innocent. 
"  The  lying  Mohican  hath  struck  a  Great  Chief, 
from  behind.  Let  him  dig  the  prints  of  his  mocca- 
son  from  the  earth,  with  his  nails,  like  a  burrowing 
fox;  for  there'll  be  one  on  his  trail,  before  he  can 
hide  his  head  Nipset  will  be  a  warrior  the  next 
snow !" 

"  There  speaks  my  witless  brother !"  exclaimed 
Faith,  rushing  ahead — she  recoiled,  covered  her 
face  with  her  hands,  and  sunk  upon  the  ground, 
under  the  violence  of  the  surprise  that  followed. 

Though  time  moved  with  his  ordinary  pace,  it 
appeared  to  those  who  witnessed  the  scene  which 
succeeded,  as  if  the  emotions  of  many  days  were 
collected  within  the  brief  compass  of  a  few  minutes. 
We  shall  not  dwell  on  the  first  harrowing  and  ex 
citing  moments  of  the  appalling  discovery. 

A  short  half-hour  served  to  make  each  person 
acquainted  with  all  that  it  was  necessary  to  know. 
We  shall  therefore  transfer  the  narrative  to  the 
end  of  that  period. 

The  body  of  Conanchet  still  rested  against  the 
tree.  The  eyes  were  open,  and  though  glazed  in 
death,  there  still  remained  about  the  brow,  the 
compressed  lips,  and  the  expansive  nostrils,  much 
of  that  lofty  firmness  which  had  sustained  him  in 
the  last  trial  of  life.  The  arms  were  passive  at  its 
sides,  but  one  hand  was  clenched  in  the  manner 
with  which  it  had  so  often  grasped  the  tomahawk, 
while  the  other  had  lost  its  power  in  a  vain  effort 
to  seek  the  place  in  the  girdle  where  the  keen  knife 
should  have  been.  These  two  movements  had 
probably  been  involuntary,  for,  in  all  other  respects, 
the  form  was  expressive  of  dignity  and  repose.  At 
its  side,  the  imaginary  Nipset  still  held  his  place, 
menacing  discontent  betraying  itself  through  the 
ordinary  dull  fatuity  of  his  countenance. 


476  THE    WEPT 

The  others  present  were  collected  around  the 
mother  and  her  stricken  child.  It  would  seem  that 
all  other  feelings  were,  for  the  moment,  absorbed 
in  apprehensions  for  the  latter.  There  was  much 
reason  to  dread,  that  the  recent  shock  had  suddenly 
deranged  some  of  that  fearful  machinery  which 
links  the  soul  to  the  body.  This  dreaded  effect, 
however,  was  more  to  be  apprehended  by  a  general 
apathy  and  failing  of  the  system,  than  by  any  vio 
lent  and  intelligible  symptom. 

The  pulses  still  vibrated,  but  it  was  heavily,  and 
like  the  irregular  and  faltering  evolutions  of  the 
mill,  which  the  dying  breeze  is  ceasing  to  fan.  The 
pallid  countenance  was  fixed  in  its  expression  of 
anguish.  Color  there  was  none,  even  the  lips  re 
sembling  the  unnatural  character  which  is  given 
by  images  of  wax.  Her  limbs,  like  her  features, 
were  immovable;  and  yet  there  was,  at  moments, 
a  working  of  the  latter,  which  would  seem  to  imply 
not  only  consciousness,  but  vivid  and  painful  recol 
lections  of  the  realities  of  her  situation. 

"  This  surpasseth  my  art,"  said  Doctor  Ergot, 
raising  himself  from  a  long  and  silent  examination 
of  the  pulse ;  "  there  is  a  mystery  in  the  construc 
tion  of  the  body,  which  human  knowledge  hath  not 
yet  unveiled.  The  currents  of  existence  are  some 
times  frozen  in  an  incomprehensible  manner,  and 
this  I  conceive  to  be  a  case  that  would  confound 
the  most  learned  of  our  art,  even  in  the  oldest  coun 
tries  of  the  earth.  It  hath  been  my  fortune  to  see 
many  arrive  and  but  few  depart  from  this  busy 
world,  and  yet  do  I  presume  to  foretell  that  here  is 
one  destined  to  quit  its  limits  ere  the  natural  num 
ber  of  her  days  has  been  filled !" 

"  Let  us  address  ourselves,  in  behalf  of  that  which 
shall  never  die,  to  Him  who  hath  ordered  the  event 
from  the  commencement  of  time,"  said  Meek,  mo 
tioning  to  those  around  him  to  join  in  prayer. 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  477 

The  divine  then  lifted  up  his  voice,  under  the 
arches  of  the  forest,  in  an  ardent,  pious,  and  elo 
quent  petition.  When  this  solemn  duty  was  perform 
ed,  attention  was  again  bestowed  on  the  sufferer. 
To  the  surprise  of  all,  it  was  found  that  the  blood 
had  revisited  her  face,  and  that  her  radiant  eyes 
were  lighted  with  an  expression  of  brightness  and 
peace.  She  even  motioned  to  be  raised,  in  order 
that  those  near  her  person  might  be  better  seen. 

"Dost  know  us?'  asked  the  trembling  Ruth. 
"  Look  on  thy  friends,  long-mourned  and  much-suf 
fering  daughter !  'Tis  she  who  sorrowed  over  thy 
infant  afflictions,  who  rejoiced  in  thy  childish  hap 
piness,  and  who  hath  so  bitterly  wept  thy  loss,  that 
craveth  the  boon.  In  this  awful  moment,  recall  the 
lessons  of  youth.  Surely,  surely,  the  God  that  be 
stowed  thee  in  mercy,  though  he  hath  led  thee  on  a 
wonderful  and  inscrutable  path,  will  not  desert  thee 
at  the  end !  Think  of  thy  early  instruction,  child 
of  my  love ;  feeble  of  spirit  as  thou  art,  the  seed 
may  yet  quicken,  though  it  hath  been  cast  where 
the  glory  of  the  promise  hath  so  long  been  hid." 

"  Mother !"  said  a  low  struggling  voice  in  reply 
The  word  reached  every  ear,  and  it  caused  a  gene 
ral  and  breathless  attention.  The  sound  was  soft 
and  low,  perhaps  infantile,  but  it  was  uttered  with 
out  accent,  and  clearly. 

"  Mother — why  are  we  in  the  forest  ?"  continued 
the  speaker.  "  Have  any  robbed  us  of  our  home, 
that  we  dwell  beneath  the  trees  ?" 

Ruth  raised  a  hand  imploringly,  for  none  to  in 
terrupt  the  illusion. 

"Nature  hath  revived  the  recollections  of  her 
youth,"  she  whispered.  "  Let  the  spirit  depart,  if 
such  be  his  holy  will,  in  the  blessedness  of  infant 
innocence !" 

"Why  do  Mark  and  Martha  stay?"  continued 


478  THE    WEPT 

the  other.  "  It  is  not  safe,  thou  knowest,  mother,  to 
wander  far  in  the  woods ;  the  heathen  may  be  out 
of  their  towns,  and  one  cannot  say  what  evil  chance 
might  happen  to  the  indiscreet." 

A  groan  struggled  from  the  chest  of  Content,  and 
the  muscular  hand  of  Dudley  compressed  itself  on 
the  shoulder  of  his  wife,  until  the  breathlessly  at 
tentive  woman  withdrew,  unconsciously,  with  pain. 

"  I've  said  as  much  to  Mark,  for  he  doth  not  al 
ways  remember  thy  warnings,  mother;  and  those 
children  do  so  love  to  wander  together ! — but  Mark 
is,  in  common,  good ;  do  not  chide,  if  he  stray  too 
far — mother,  thou  wilt  not  chide !" 

The  youth  turned  his  head,  for  even  at  that  mo 
ment,  the  pride  of  young  manhood  prompted  him 
to  conceal  his  weakness. 

"Hast  prayed  to-day,  my  daughter?"  said  Ruth, 
struggling  to'  be  composed.  "  Thou  shouldst  not 
forget  thy  duty  to  His  blessed  name,  even  though 
we  are  houseless  in  the  woods." 

"  I  will  pray  now,  mother,"  said  the  creature  of 
this  mysterious  hallucination,  struggling  to  bow  her 
face  into  the  lap  of  Ruth.  Her  wish  was  indulged, 
and  for  a  minute,  the  same  low  childish  voice  was 
heard  distinctly  repeating  the  words  of  a  prayei 
adapted  to  the  earliest  period  of  life.  Feeble  as 
were  the  sounds,  none  of  their  intonations  escaped 
*he  listeners,  until  near  the  close,  when  a  species  of 
holy  calm  seemed  to  absorb  the  utterance.  Ruth 
raised  the  form  of  her  child,  and  saw  that  the  fea 
tures  bore  the  placid  look  of  a  sleeping  infant.  Life 
played  upon  them,  as  the  flickering  light  lingers  on 
the  dying  torch.  Her  dove-like  eyes  looked  up  into 
the  face  of  Ruth,  and  the  anguish  of  the  mother 
was  alleviated  by  a  smile  of  intelligence  and  love. 
The  full  and  sweet  organs  next  rolled  from  face  to 
face,  recognition  and  pleasure  accompanying  each 


OF    WISH-TON-WISH.  479 

change.  On  Whittal  they  became  perplexed  and 
doubtful,  but  when  they  met  the  fixed,  frowning, 
and  still  commanding  eye  of  the  dead  chief,  their 
wandering  ceased  for  ever.  There  was  a  minute, 
during  which,  fear,  doubt,  wildness,  and  early  re 
collections,  struggled  for  the  mastery.  The  hands  of 
Narra-mattah  trembled,  and  she  clung  convulsively 
to  the  robe  of  Ruth. 

"  Mother ! — mother  ! — "  whispered  the  agitated 
victim  of  so  many  conflicting  emotions,  "  I  will  pray 
again — an  evil  Spirit  besets  me." 

Ruth  felt  the  force  of  her  grasp,  and  heard  the 
breathing  of  a  few  words  of  petition ;  after  which 
the  voice  was  mute,  and  the  hands  relaxed  their 
hold.  When  the  face  of  the  nearly  insensible  parent 
was  withdrawn,  to  the  others  the  dead  appeared  to 
gaze  at  each  other  with  a  mysterious  and  unearthly 
intelligence.  The  look  of  the  Narragansett  was  still, 
as  in  his  hour  of  pride,  haughty,  unyielding,  and 
filled  with  defiance ;  while  that  of  the  creature  who 
had  so  long  lived  in  his  kindness  was  perplexed, 
timid,  but  not  without  a  character  of  hope.  A  solemn 
calm  succeeded,  and  when  Meek  raised  his  voice 
again  in  the  forest,  it  was  to  ask  the  Omnipotent 
Ruler  of  Heaven  and  Earth  to  sanctify  his  dispen 
sation  to  those  who  survived. 

The  changes  which  have  been  wrought,  on  this 
continent,  within  a  century  and  a  half,  are  very 
wonderful.  Cities  have  appeared  where  the  wilder 
ness  then  covered  the  ground,  and  there  is  good  rea 
son  to  believe  that  a  flourishing  town  now  stands  on, 
or  near,  the  spot  where  Conanchet  met  his  death. 
But,  notwithstanding  so  much  activity  has  prevailed 
in  the  country,  the  valley  of  this  legend  remains  but 
little  altered.  The  hamlet  has  increased  to  a  vil 
lage  ;  the  farms  possess  more  of  the  air  of  cultiva 
tion  ;  the  dwellings  are  enlarged,  and  are  somewhat 


480  THE   WEPT 

more  commodious;  the  churches  are  increased  to 
three ;  the  garrisoned  houses,  and  all  other  signs  of 
apprehension  from  violence,  have  long  since  dis 
appeared;  but  still  the  place  is  secluded,  little 
known,  and  strongly  impressed  with  the  marks  of 
its  original  sylvan  character. 

A  descendant  of  Mark  and  Martha  is,  at  this 
hour,  the  proprietor  of  the  estate  on  which  so  many 
of  the  moving  incidents  of  our  simple  tale  were 
enacted.  Even  the  building  which  was  the  second 
habitation  of  his  ancestor,  is  in  part  standing,  though 
additions  and  improvements  have  greatly  changed 
its  form.  The  orchards,  which  in  1675  were  young 
and  thrifty,  are  now  old  and  decaying.  The  trees 
have  yielded  their  character  for  excellence,  to  those 
varieties  of  the  fruit  which  the  soil  and  the  climate 
have  since  made  known  to  the  inhabitants.  Still 
they  stand,  for  it  is  known  that  fearful  scenes  oc 
curred  beneath  their  shades,  and  there  is  a  deep 
moral  interest  attached  to  their  existence. 

The  ruins  of  the  block-house,  though  much  di 
lapidated  and  crumbling,  are  also  visible.  At  their 
foot  is  the  last  abode  of  all  the  Heathcotes  who 
have  lived  and  died  in  that  vicinity,  for  near  two 
centuries.  The  graves  of  those  of  later  times  are 
known  by  tablets  of  marble  :  but  nearer  to  the  ruin 
are  many,  whose  monuments,  half-concealed  in  the 
grass,  are  cut  in  the  common  coarse  free-stone  of 
the  country. 

One,  who  took  an  interest  in  the  recollection  of 
days  long  gone,  had  occasion  a  few  years  since  to 
visit  the  spot.  It  was  easy  to  trace  the  births  and 
deaths  of  generations,  by  the  visible  records  on  the 
more  pretending  monuments  of  those  interred  within 
a  hundred  years.  Beyond  that  period,  research 
became  difficult  and  painful.  But  his  zeal  was  not 
to  be  easily  defeated. 


OF  WISII-TON-WISII.  481 

To  every  little  mound,  one  only  excepted,  there 
was  a  stone,  and  on  each  stone,  illegible  as  it  might 
be,  there  was  an  inscription.  The  undistinguished 
grave,  it  was  presumed,  by  its  size  and  its  position, 
\vas  that  which  contained  the  bones  of  those  who  fell 
in  the  night  of  the  burning.  There  was  another, 
which  bore,  in  deep  letters,  the  name  of  the  Puritan. 
His  death  occurred  in  1680.  At  its  side  there  was 
an  humble  stone,  on  which,  with  great  difficulty,  \vu- 
traced  the  single  word  *  Submission.'  It  was  im 
possible  to  ascertain  whether  the  date  was  1680,  01 
1690.  The  same  mystery  remained  about  the  death 
of  this  man,  as  had  clouded  so  much  of  his  life.  His 
real  name,  parentage,  or  character,  further  than 
they  have  been  revealed  in  these  pages,  was  never 
traced.  There  still  remains,  however,  in  the  family 
of  the  Heathcotes,  an  orderly-book  of  a  troop  ot 
horse,  which  tradition  says  had  some  connexion  with 
his  fortunes.  Affixed  to  this  defaced  and  imperfect 
document,  is  a  fragment  of  some  diary  or  journal, 
which  has  reference  to  the  condemnation  of  Charles 
I.  to  the  scaffold. 

The  body  of  Content  lay  near  his  infant  children, 
and  it  would  seem  that  he  still  lived  in  the  first 
quarter  of  the  last  century.  There  was  an  aged  man, 
lately  in  existence,  who  remembers  to  have^een  him, 
a  white-headed  patriarch,  reverend  by  his  years, 
and  respected  for  his  meekness  and  justice.  He  had 
passed  nearly,  or  quite,  half-a-century  unmarried. 
This  melancholy  fact  was  sufficiently  shown  by  the 
date  on  the  stone  of  the  nearest  mound.  The  in 
scription  denoted  it  to  be  the  grave  of  "Ruth, 
daughter  of  George  Harding  of  the  Colony  of  Mas 
sachusetts  Bay,  and  wife  of  Capt.  Content  Heath- 
cote."  She  died  in  the  autumn  of  1675.  with,  as  the 
stone  reveals,  "  a  spirit  broken  for  the  purposes  of 
earth,  by  much  family  affliction,  though  with  hope- 
41 


482  THE    V/ETT 

justified  by  the  covenant,  and  her  faith  in  the 
Lord." 

The  divine,  who  lately  officiated,  if  he  do  not 
now  officiate,  in  the  principal  church  of  the  village, 
is  called  the  reverend  Meek  Lamb.  Though  claim 
ing  a  descent  from  him  who  ministered  in  the  temple 
at  the  period  of  our  tale,  time  and  intermarriages 
have  produced  this  change  in  the  name,  and  happily 
some  others  in  doctrinal  interpretations  of  duty. 
When  this  worthy  servant  of  the  church  found  the 
object  which  had  led  one  born  in  another  state 
and  claiming  descent  from  a  line  of  religionists  who 
had  left  the  common  country  of  their  ancestors  to 
worship  in  still  another  manner,  to  take  an  interest 
in  the  fortunes  of  those  who  first  inhabited  the 
valley,  he  found  a  pleasure  in  aiding  the  inquiries. 
The  abodes  of  the  Dudleys  and  Rings  were  numerous 
in  the  village  and  its  environs.  He  showed  a  stone, 
surrounded  by  many  others  that  bore  these  names, 
on  which  was  rudely  carved,  "I  am  Nipset,  a  Narra- 
gansett;  the  next  snow,  I  shall  be  a  warrior!"  There 
is  a  rumor,  that  though  the  hapless  brother  of  Faith 
gradually  returned  to  the  ways  of  civilized  life,  he 
had  frequent  glimpses  of  those  seducing  pleasures 
which  he  had  once  enjoyed  in  the  freedom  of  the 
woods.  • 

Whilst  wandering  through  these  melancholy  re 
mains  of  former  scenes,  a  question  was  put  to  the 
divine  concerning  the  place  where  Conanchet  was 
interred.  He  readiiy  offered  to  show  it.  The  grave 
was  on  the  hill,  and  distinguished  only  by  a  head 
stone  that  the  grass  had  concealed  from  former 
search.  It  merely  bore  the  words — "  the  Narra- 
gansett." 

'•  And  this  at  its  side?"  asked  the  inquirer.  "Here 
is  one  also,  before  unnoted." 


OF    WLSH-TON-WISII.  4KS 

The  divine  bent  in  the  grass,  and  scraped  the 
moss  from  the  humble  monument.  He  then  pointer 
to  a  line,  carved  with  more  than  usual  care.  Th< 
inscription  simply  said — 

"  THE  WEPT  OF  Wisn-ToN- WISH." 


08 


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